Unionists and activists gathered on the morning of March 6 at Port Botany to stand in solidarity with Palestine and declare their commitment to direct action against the state of Israel.
Ahmed Abadla from the Palestinian Justice Movement called on “Western society, the entire world, for humankind, to act” in order to “make it [Israel] the pariah state it should be”. Abadla implored Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself to take responsibility and action “as a politician, as a leader of this country, and as a human being.”
Paul Keating, Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Sydney branch, spoke on the right of Palestinians to self-determination and resistance against Israel, which he termed an “apartheid state”. He also spoke to the right of communities across the world to protest their governments’ inaction and complicity.
Keating issued a warning to shipping companies stating “you don’t want protests in the ports, declare that you will not move any Israeli owned or made goods”. He also singled out the Israeli shipping firm ZIM “we don’t want your vessels in our ports!”
The MUA and the Block the Boat movement have targeted ZIM specifically due to their role as the largest Israeli shipping company. It has been revealed that Australia has exported $13 million in arms and ammunition to Israel over the past 5 years.
Deputy Leader of the Greens and NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi spoke to Australia’s role in the atrocities in Gaza by “aiding, abetting, and arming the state of Israel” while freezing “6 million dollars of life-saving aid funding to UNRWA without having seen any evidence of Israel’s claims.”
Likewise, NSW Greens Senator David Shoebridge condemned Australia’s bilateral arms trade with Israel emphasising that “we [Australia] should not permit this port to be used to import weapons from Israel and to export Australian weapons to the genocide thats occuring at the moment in Gaza.” Most recently, the Australian Army awarded the Israeli firm Elbit Systems a $917 million contract.
Speakers also spoke to the history of the unions in supporting the plight of the oppressed. National Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) Christy Cain mentioned the role of the unions in dismantling South African apartheid and supporting East Timorese independence. Shoebridge spoke of the role of the MUA, often standing in opposition to the Australian government, in withdrawing labour in the face of war. He pointed to the MUA refusing to load ships bound for Imperial Japan before the Second World War and for the Vietnam war.
Speakers condemned the escalation of police violence against protestors, referring to 23 protestors arrested at the Port Botany action last November charged with anti-protest laws and the brutality the police used against the crowd. Keating called on the “Minns government to abolish the anti-protest laws.” Shoebridge highlighted the already large police presence at the press conference and asked “imagine what the kind of police presence will be when there will be protests here.”
Cain ended with a rousing call to action, speaking “to any politician, to any trade unionists out there, this is genocide, make no mistake about it” and that “peace is union business.”
Unionists and activists gathered on the morning of March 6 at Port Botany to stand in solidarity with Palestine and declare their commitment to direct action against the state of Israel.
Ahmed Abadla from the Palestinian Justice Movement called on “Western society, the entire world, for humankind, to act” in order to “make [Israel] the pariah state it should be”. Abadla implored Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself to take responsibility and action “as a politician, as a leader of this country, and as a human being.”
Paul Keating, Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Sydney branch, spoke on the right of Palestinians to self-determination and resistance against Israel, which he termed an “apartheid state”. He also spoke to the right of communities across the world to protest their governments’ inaction and complicity.
Keating issued a warning to shipping companies stating “you don’t want protests in the ports, declare that you will not move any Israeli owned or made goods”. He also singled out the Israeli shipping firm ZIM: “we don’t want your vessels in our ports!”
The MUA and the Block the Boat movement have targeted ZIM specifically due to their role as the largest Israeli shipping company. It has been revealed that Australia has exported $13 million in arms and ammunition to Israel over the past five years.
Deputy Leader of the Greens and NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi spoke to Australia’s role in the atrocities in Gaza by “aiding, abetting, and arming the state of Israel” while freezing “6 million dollars of life-saving aid funding to UNRWA without having seen any evidence of Israel’s claims.”
Likewise, NSW Greens Senator David Shoebridge condemned Australia’s bilateral arms trade with Israel emphasising that “we [Australia] should not permit this port to be used to import weapons from Israel and to export Australian weapons to the genocide thats occuring at the moment in Gaza.” Most recently, the Australian Army awarded the Israeli firm Elbit Systems a $917 million contract.
Speakers also spoke to the history of the unions in supporting the plight of the oppressed. National Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) Christy Cain mentioned the role of the unions in dismantling South African apartheid and supporting East Timorese independence. Shoebridge spoke of the role of the MUA, often standing in opposition to the Australian government, in withdrawing labour in the face of war. He pointed to the MUA refusing to load ships bound for Imperial Japan before the Second World War and for the Vietnam war.
Speakers condemned the escalation of police violence against protestors, referring to 23 protestors arrested at the Port Botany action last November charged with anti-protest laws and the brutality the police used against the crowd. Keating called on the “Minns government to abolish the anti-protest laws.” Shoebridge highlighted the already large police presence at the press conference and asked “imagine what the kind of police presence will be when there will be protests here.”
Cain ended with a rousing call to action, speaking “to any politician, to any trade unionists out there, this is genocide, make no mistake about it” and that “peace is union business”.
