Penny Wong lashed as Coalition, Greens vote to suspend Senate for Iran vote
The coalition harshly criticized Foreign Minister Penny Wong after she voted against an attempt to cancel parliamentary hearings to allow a debate on Iran.
Liberals and Greens voted Monday to suspend standing orders, pause government business, debate a motion to register support for the U.S. attack on Iran and welcome the death of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The motion, introduced by Senator Michaelia Cash, also aims to confirm Australia’s rejection of Iran’s claim that it is seeking nuclear weapons and to condemn the Islamic Republic’s attack on US allies in the Gulf, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Speaking about the motion, Senator Cash said the final fight was “one of the most historic moments history will ever record”.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead,” Senator Cash said, later describing him as “the worst person in history.”
He was the highest authority of a regime that for decades imprisoned dissidents, suppressed protests, murdered Iranians in their own country, strengthened the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and oversaw the systematic oppression of the Iranian people.
“It’s the theocratic system that exports terrorism aboard; we’re very aware of that here in Australia too.”
Senator Cash stated that the Coalition recognizes the US’s “moral clarity” and determination in its attack on the oil-rich country and that they are taking action to “prevent” Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“A nuclear-armed Iran would destroy regional stability. It would embolden Hezbollah, Hamas and other proxy forces,” he said.
“This would put existential pressure on Israel and could seriously undermine the non-proliferation regime that is deeply important to us here in Australia.”
Senator Cash said the motion was to ensure that the Senate “clearly records its position” on the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and “what that means.”
He accused Foreign Minister Penny Wong of “not being prepared to put Australia’s position on record”.
“He can only contribute to the debate by making cheap political points,” he said.
Senator Wong supported the motion with amendments, noting solidarity with Australian-Iranians in the wake of Ayatollah Khamenei, and called for dialogue “through diplomatic means to restore peace and stability.”
“There are approximately 115,000 Australians in the region. These are my priorities, not Senator Cash’s proposals,” Senator Wong said.
In response, Ms Wong sought to attack the Opposition for not imposing new sanctions on Iran while in power, and the Greens for “saying nothing about the games Iran is playing, including preventing the International Atomic Energy Agency from carrying out independent inspections”.
Senator Wong noted that the suspension of standing orders puts the debate on Closing the Gaps, which will be led by Indigenous Affairs Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, on hold.
Senator David Shoebridge accused Labor and the Liberals of joining One Nation as the “three war parties”.
“We have seen the Albanian Labor Party government rushing to be the first country in the world to support Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in their latest illegal war, literally rushing to return to a war that the Labor Party knows is in grave violation of international law,” he said.
“Because Labor knows it is illegal, and Labor knows that the claims of their friends Donald Trump and his running mate Benjamin Netanyahu that this is about stopping an imminent nuclear threat in Iran are lies.”
