On Monday June 24, the City of Sydney Council passed a motion in favour of a review and report on its suppliers and investments in relation to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
The “Report on City of Sydney Suppliers and Investments in Relation to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign and Israel” motion was carried with a majority vote, with Liberal councillors Shauna Jarrett and Lyndon Gannon voting against.
Mover of the motion, Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore, commenced her notice of motion by acknowledging “the continued violence in Israel and Palestine”, explaining that BDS is one method of applying pressure and making a difference from abroad.
In her speech, Ellsmore invoked a motion passed by the council on December 11, which expressed support for an “immediate, sustainable and humanitarian ceasefire,” with respect to “human rights and international law.”
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore spoke of the Council’s endorsement of a lasting ceasefire, stating “now more than ever we must use our voices to call for peace.”
The BDS motion entails:
- The council will check that it is not investing in, or purchasing from companies complicit in armaments or human rights abuses, especially relating to Israeli settlements in the occupied-Palestinian territories (OPT).
- The council will report back in three months to consider investments of companies implicated in human rights violations in Palestine.
- The council will recommend changes to avoid purchasing from complicit companies.
- The motion also clarified the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights list of 97 companies with direct and indirect profiteering from Israeli settlements.
The standardised use of Hewlett-Packard (HP) across many councils, including City of Sydney, was of particular importance. While HP is not on the UN list, it is on the BDS list due to their role in supplying technology to the Israeli Defence Forces including facial recognition services, and Elsmore said that this “tangible financial support” must be removed.
City of Sydney for Palestine (CS4P) spokesperson Ash Phthalo said that this decision was a “huge step forward and a testament to the organising, the rallying, the mobilising of Palestinians and their supporters.”
Mark Gillespie, another spokesperson for CS4P, noted that the “Merri-Bek, Melbourne Council passed a motion for $10 000 to support refugees arriving from Gaza. We will ask Sydney Council to do the same, and we plan to introduce refugees from Gaza to the Town Hall and the Councillors.”
Independent Councillor from Wiradjuri country Yvonne Weldon supported the motion, reiterating that “the situation in Gaza is utterly heartbreaking” and “a humanitarian crisis”. She emphasised that “local government can do its part by reviewing the city’s investments and suppliers”.
Before the BDS motion, a Sydney Peace Prize motion saw Sydney Peace Foundation patron Moore make note of the humanitarian efforts of 2024 recipients, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.
Clover Moore then proposed that the City of Sydney provide the Australian Red Cross for Palestine Aid an additional $25,000, on top of the $25,000 it contributes to the $50,000 Sydney Peace Prize, given the “truly alarming” circumstances in Palestine, and the number of deaths of both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. The motion was carried unanimously.
An amendment and addition was proposed by Yvonnne Weldon for a one minute’s silence in acknowledgement of lives lost to be observed by all present at the meeting.
