A large crowd gathered to protest foreign minister Penny Wong’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and attacks on Lebanon at a University of Tasmania (UTAS) address on October 15.
A coalition of community members, students and Palestine solidarity activists picketed the entrance to UTAS’s Stanley Burbury Theatre where Wong was speaking and disrupted her speech.
The address was advertised as a “unique opportunity to hear from one of the nation’s most influential leaders in foreign affairs” and “provide a deep dive into international relations, policymaking, and the importance of Australia’s role in an ever-changing global landscape”.
Fergus Freeman, spokesperson for Grassroots Action Network Tasmania, one of the groups organising the action, said he “condemns the hypocrisy of platforming an address on international relations by someone who has been complicit in massacre of ethnic cleansing.
“Lack of action against this war is complicity with Israel.”
Protesters pointed out that Wong and Labor have refused to apply any real pressure on Israel, despite the ongoing genocide.
“Penny Wong’s office has met the carpet bombing of Lebanon and the ongoing starvation of the people of Gaza with empty words and inaction,” they said.
The pointed to Australia's decision to abstain in the United Nations vote to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine, its decision to deny more than 7000 visas for Palestinians fleeing the genocide and its decision to pause funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency as examples of complicity.
“Australia is providing real support to Israel right now,” Freeman said. “If Penny Wong had any real intentions to end the war, she would end the flow of weaponry and money between Australia and Israel.”
A video of protesters disrupting Wong’s speech was reported widely in mainstream media.
Wong repeatedly stepped away from the microphone and the facilitator asked protesters to leave.
In the videos, protesters can be heard saying: “What we need right now is leaders that have the backbone — that are willing to do something that isn’t just talk.”
Another said: “You’ve had chances at a national and international level to change what is happening in Lebanon, in Palestine … there’s blood on your hands.”
Wong responded: “I’ve never believed we gain anything by shouting each other down”, to which protesters pointed out she had ignored countless attempts to contact her. “You don’t write back; you don’t answer the phone.”
UTAS students condemned the university’s ties with Israel. “UTAS maintains contracts with Hensoldt, a German radar company that provides Israel with surveillance technology; it has also worked with weapons giants Thales and Lockheed Martin … and has an active research partnership with the University of Haifa.”
Earlier this year, UTAS students organised a three-month Palestine solidarity encampment demanding that the university cut ties with Israeli institutions and weapons manufacturers.
After her disrupted speech, Wong waited more than an hour to leave the venue in an attempt to avoid speaking to the protesters.
Protest organisers said they wanted to “make it clear that nipaluna/Hobart is a city that holds politicians accountable”.
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