Moving the Australian Embassy in Israel
Last week Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott proclaimed something that he never called for as PM. He stated that Australia should move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Michael Danby
Michael Danby, Federal Member for Melbourne Ports stated on the ABC’s AM program last week in reference to Former PM Tony Abbott’s comments, that he was “cynical about Abbott’s motives”. Mr Danby went on to say that he [Abbott] “did not do anything about the issue when he was Prime Minister” continuing that he “wished Mr Abbott would have said this when he was PM” and “many people would have the feeling that it’s sort of an attempt to have a shot at his rival, the Prime Minister [Malcolm Turnbull]”.
Relevant quotes from Michael Danby during the AM interview:
- – “I’m not a psychotherapist, so I can’t look inside his mind. It may be that since he’s not been Prime Minister, that he’s had more time to look into these kind of things,”
- – “I wish Mr Abbott had said this when he was PM,”
– “Many people would have the feeling that it’s sort of an attempt to have a shot at his rival, the Prime Minister [Malcolm Turnbull].”
Taxpayer subsidies for terrorists:
Michael Danby has been, for many months now, calling for better oversight and accountability of Australian taxpayer aid dollars going to Gaza. This comes as Mohamad El Halabi, the Gaza director of World Vision is accused of misappropriating funds to support Hamas’s terrorist organisation.
When discussing the matter of foreign aid on the AM Program Mr Danby made it clear that he is “more interested in focusing on what (acting Labor Leader) Chris Bowen talked about, which is accountability and transparency of Australian foreign aid”. Danby’s comments come amid sweeping changes made by the British to their aid in Gaza, with a focus on accountability and transparency.
Danby made it very clear that he is “not against foreign aid. The Labor Party is a very strong supporter of foreign aid, including foreign aid to the Palestinians, but only [sic] for the purposes to which it’s entitled.” If our foreign aid program is to be sustainable however, all Australians must have faith in the system. The Prime Minister should take this matter out of the hands of the incompetent Foreign Minister and order an independent forensic audit to investigate where our Australian taxes are going when we hand to agencies in Gaza.
Relevant quotes from Michael Danby during the AM interview:
- – I’m not really interested in getting into Tony Abbott’s conflict with Malcolm Turnbull [over the embassy’s location],” he said.
- – “I’m more interested in focusing on what [acting Labor leader] Chris Bowen talked about, which is accountability and transparency of Australian foreign aid.”
- – “I’m not against foreign aid, the Labor Party is a very strong supporter of foreign aid, including foreign aid to the Palestinians, but for the purposes to which it’s entitled.”
This report is based on a media release by Michael Danby
I live in Melbourne Ports electorate and know all about Mr Danby and his henchmen, particularly at election time.
Our embassy should stay in Tel Aviv.
I agree with Danby that Mr Abbott has an issue with relevance as a backbencher.
BUT what is Michael Danby’s OWN position on the concept of moving the Australian Embassy to Jerusalem?
At this stage, the only part which has such a policy is One Nation which perhaps makes it the most pro-Israel in Australia!