Labor risks losing voter support in a similar way to the Democrats in the US if it continues to respond to questions around Palestinian rights with “fear and loathing”, a former cabinet minister says.
Western Sydney MP Ed Husic, the most outspoken Labor member on the war in Gaza, also wants a dedicated federal police team to monitor dual Australian-Israeli citizens who travel to the Middle East to fight for the Israel Defence Forces.
“What I am deeply concerned about is there are elements of fear and loathing that drive the way we respond to these issues,” Mr Husic told a Labor Friends of Palestine event over the weekend.
“Fear to have your own view, and loathing if you do.”
First reported by Labor Tribune, which bills itself as a voice for the “Marxist left” in the labour movement, Mr Husic’s comments were made on the sidelines of the NSW Labor conference in Sydney.
They foreshadow a possible battle over Palestinian rights at Labor’s national conference later in July.
While elements of the party are keen to ventilate the issue at the party’s most significant policy-making forum, multiple Labor sources confirmed to AAP debate was likely to be tightly stage-managed and relatively sedate.
Mr Husic said the Labor Party he’d grown up in had similar debates and went on to win multiple elections.
He warned the political movement risked losing support if it continued to stifle what he said was “legitimate debate” on the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“That cannot be the way that we continue. Otherwise, we will see what happened to the US Democrats happen with us as our members and supporters drift off, and we cannot have that,” Mr Husic said.
The former industry and science minister, who was Australia’s first Muslim cabinet minister before being politically knifed in a factional deal after the 2025 election, also said more should be done to monitor dual citizens who serve in foreign militaries.
“We need to set up, as a government, a body within the AFP to track the movement of dual nationals,” he told the event.
“We cannot have dual nationals leaving this country to go and be involved in that operation (in Gaza and the West Bank).”
If a citizen were to contribute to crimes against humanity overseas, they could put Australia in breach of its obligations under the genocide convention, he argued.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Husic has repeatedly called for tougher sanctions on Israeli officials and an end to any defence ties between Australia and Israel.
He has also previously called for the party to rethink its support for the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK.
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