The Albanese government’s flip-flopping over a decision to reverse Australia’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has been called the “most significant mistake” made in years by the opposition leader.
“This really is a very significant mistake that’s been made by [Foreign Minister] Penny Wong and [Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese,” Dutton said.
“They lied about it, they deceived people in relation to the decision-making process. Obviously, words went up on the website that they didn’t know about, and their first response was to cover it up,” he said.
“To damage our relations with a very important partner and ally in Israel is unforgivable, and I think the government really should be held to account for that.”
Dutton also noted that Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s instinctive reaction to blame the Coalition demonstrated the extent of the cover-up.
Israeli PM Criticises Australian Governments Decision
The criticism from Dutton comes after the Australian government was criticised on social media by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lipid, who took to Twitter to admonish the Australian government for what he saw as a hasty and unprofessional response.“In light of the way this decision was made in Australia, as a hasty response to an incorrect report in the media, we can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally,” he said.
He said Jerusalem was “the eternal and united capital of Israel, and nothing will ever change that.”
Labor MPs Upset By Move
The change has not just upset Israel and Australia’s Jewish community; it also has upset Labor Party members.Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, has criticised the policy change by his party leaders, saying in a statement posted on Twitter that it was disappointing.
“I didn’t like the Morrison government playing politics with these sensitive issues, and it’s my view any further alteration to Australia’s policy needed to be considered extremely carefully ... to my disappointment, this did not happen,” he wrote.
“People in my electorate and across Australia are hurt by this decision, and to be honest, so am I.”
Prime Minister Admits Policy Change Could Have Been Handled Better
The Australian prime minister admitted in a radio interview with ABC on Oct 19 that the policy change could have been done better.“Of course, some things can always be done better. But the truth is that we have been very clear about what our position was,” Prime Minister Albanese said.
Albanese also tried to deflect the policy change back onto the former government and accused them of being duplicitous.
“They said that the embassy would move, and, of course, it didn’t move. So they made an announcement, and once the by-election was over, the embassy didn’t move. There hadn’t been any effective change; the Australian Embassy remained in Tel Aviv,” he said.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs have declared their support for the Jerusalem policy, with the Shadow Minister for Cyber Security & Countering Foreign Interference, James Paterson in a post on social media noting that Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel that Australia’s foreign policy was now based on lie.
“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Nothing we say will change that,” Paterson said. “But our foreign policy is now based on a fiction. And we have grievously insulted a friend. The shambolic process made a bad decision worse. One day we will recognise Jerusalem again because it is the truth.”
