Trump’s Gaza Grab | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Amy Remeikis
On September 30, 1938 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stood outside 10 Downing Street and declared the Munich Agreement had appeased German Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s territorial aims.
“I believe it is peace for our time,” he said.
“…Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.”
Germany violated the agreement almost immediately. Six months later it had invaded all of Czechoslovakian territory and another six months after that, after German troops marched on Poland, the world was at war.
We know how that ended.
We know how history has judged the appeasement policy of 1930s leaders, which included both major parties in Australia, who held tight to the British empire’s coat tails even as other commonwealth nations pushed for independence. Australia’s government did not ratify the 1931 Statute of Westminster, a British law which gave formal legislative independence to commonwealth nations, until 1942. John Curtin was prompted to ratify it after the Fall of Singapore, which put to bed the deep belief Britain would be able to protect Australia in a war.
Australia began turning to America. And we’ve been turning blind eyes, ever since.
None of this should be new information to any student of history.
What may be new is the role of the British press during the appeasement policy.
British historian Frank McDonough writes in his book Neville Chamberlain, Appeasement and the British Road to War, that after Hitler complained of bad press to the leader of the British House of Lords, Lord Halifax in 1937, Hitler was assured “His Majesty’s government would do everything in their power to influence our press to avoid unnecessary offence.”
Hitler had linked press criticism of his armament and land grabs to his reluctance to engage with world leaders, saying in recorded remarks “nine tenths of all international tension was due to the licentious press of the democratic nations’.
Halifax responded by meeting with the owners of newspapers critical of Nazis and ‘asked them to treat coverage of Nazi Germany with restraint’. That included cartoonists. It was thought to be moderately successful. Where the Chamberlain government saw a “far more successful’ response to the pressure it put on media outlets, was on BBC radio.
The public broadcaster was ‘regarded abroad as an official government organisation and needed to operate with great caution. As a result, BBC coverage of international events hardly ever offered critical comments and severely limited the opportunities for opponents to criticise government policy’.
In 1938, a critic of the appeasement policy, Harold Nicolson, started a program on the BBC called ‘The Past Week’ but when he began to include developments on the Czech crisis (which would lead to the failed Munich Agreement and then shortly after, the start of World War II) the BBC agreed to allow the Foreign Office to review his scripts before going to air. McDonough reports “a reluctant and angry Nicolson changed his script and ended up talking not about the Czech crisis but about the rise in the price of milk”.
It was this period of history which came to mind as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused, at least a dozen times, to criticise Donald Trump’s illegal and immoral ‘vision’ to “own” Gaza as if it were a run-down New Jersey warehouse, and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population through their forced removal to surrounding states.
Albanese said Australia’s position remained in support of a two-state solution, and he would not “as Australia’s Prime Minister, give a daily commentary on statements by the US President.”
Because his “job”, he said, “was to support Australia’s position.
“My job here today – I tell you what Australians will be concerned about. They’re concerned about Medicare, they’re concerned about education, they’re concerned about whether they have access to Free TAFE.”
Australians being told about milk, while the world burned.
From the appeasement point of view, it’s understandable. Albanese is heading to an election campaign where he will have to fight to hold on to government. That’s the fight he has been focused on since the loss of the Voice referendum, where Peter Dutton, through trickery, lies and false promises undermined not only the proposal, but the Albanese government’s own authority. Having won that battle, Dutton has set about laying down the election territory he wants to fight on; culture wars and populism that offer no solutions to the very real threats and issues Australians face, but give licence to anger and insecurities someone else must be to blame. And there has been next to no pushback. In attempting to neutralise any issue Dutton raises, Albanese and his government have ceded almost all territory to Dutton.
Almost every Australian is closer to being homeless than ever approaching Dutton’s own personal wealth, but Dutton has so successfully cowed the government, the words ‘top end of town’ have all but been banned from leaving Labor lips. Trans people and their loved ones are watching the world and feeling justifiably terrified, but have found no solace that their own governments will stand up for them. We know, from history, that attacks on trans populations are always a portent of more sinister ideals, but in trying to neutralise Dutton and the other Temu Trumps from further weaponising it as an election issue through a review, the Albanese government has ceded more authority. Albanese’s constant repetition of two-state-solution was meant as a signal Australia disagreed with Trump, but as a defence of values, human rights and international law, it was, at best, mealy-mouthed hollowness.
The Albanese government has walked away from its nature positive laws, its modest superannuation changes, taking on big tech, and even the bare minimum of gambling advertising reforms, all to clear the decks ahead of an election where it will try to hold on to power. And you have to ask – what for? To do what?
Meanwhile, Dutton continues to ape Trump’s worse impulses by tearing at the fabric of social cohesion, rewriting narratives and this week, applauding the man himself who had just casually suggested ethnic cleansing like it was a Domain listing, as a “big thinker” refuses to detail any of his own policies. And that’s apparently fine, because the media will report what he’s said in refusing to detail those policies, because that’s ‘objectivity’.
All of this is to say, we know what happens when our institutions sleepwalk towards oblivion, in the name of appeasement.
We’ll continue to push for what’s right, because we know what’s at stake. And so do you. Thank you for standing with us.
Take care of you, Amy.
— Amy Remeikis is the Chief Political Strategist at the Australia Institute
The Big Stories
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” — Desmond Tutu
The ongoing destruction in Gaza has created an uninhabitable landscape, with more than 46,000 Palestinians killed, many of whom are women, children, and non-combatants. Infrastructure is in ruins, and at least 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced. These conditions threaten to perpetuate the cycle of violence and instability.
In light of these developments, and in response to United States President Donald Trump saying the US will “take over” the Gaza Strip and move Palestinian people elsewhere, Australia must act with urgency to protect its interests and uphold its values.
In a new report, Dr Emma Shortis and Allan Behm outline the policy actions that Australia can take to help foster long-term stability in the region.
“We can not afford to ignore the consequences of the conflict in Gaza, which pose deep and lasting questions about our values.” – Dr Emma Shortis
While university Vice-Chancellors rake in millions, young researchers and teachers struggle
Australia’s university Vice-Chancellors are among the highest paid in the world.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that this should result in better outcomes, but it turns out paying Vice-chancellors more than seven times as much as university lecturers, doesn’t seem to have any positive relationship on student satisfaction at all.
That is not a sign of a healthy education system.
Labor has managed to tame inflation in an election year – but is anybody listening?
The PM is right to say the cost of living is rising slower than before, but until the RBA cuts interest rates it’s likely nobody cares, writes Greg Jericho in his Guardian column.
95 top Australian and international artists unite to stop the destruction of one of the world’s greatest artworks
Murujuga rock art is over 40,000 years old, and contains what could be the very first depiction of a human face in history and it’s currently under threat of destruction from Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export terminal extension.
95 leading artists from Australia and around the world have signed united for an open letter calling to reject the extension of the gas terminal and protect the priceless Murujuga rock art.
Coordinated by the Australia Institute, the open letter was published in the West Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, the Canberra Times, and the Age.
The Win
One hundred ‘carbon-neutral’ corporates quit government scheme over integrity concerns
Two years ago, at the Australia Institute’s first Climate Integrity Summit, we sounded the alarm on worthless carbon credits that were effectively being used as a licence to pollute. To get something done about it, we referred Climate Active to the ACCC.
Two years on, and we read that 100 companies have quit the beleaguered carbon-neutral certification scheme.
This is good news.
Even IF all carbon credits are perfect – they are actively discouraging companies from decarbonising. Real zero, not “net” zero should be the goal.
The Bin
Mandatory sentencing
Yesterday, hate crime legislation passed the House, following the government’s decision to include mandatory sentencing of six years for terror offences, three years for financing terrorism and one year for displaying hate symbols.
Independent MP Zoe Daniel supported the bill, but voted against the amendment to include mandatory sentencing. She explains why in this statement:
Community safety is paramount, and so is good policymaking. Mandatory minimum sentences do not reflect good parliamentary practice or good governance. Nor do they respect the sanctity of Australia’s constitution and separation of powers, and the importance judicial independence.
This is a principle that I have long stood for; while sentencing guidelines may sit within the law, the implementation of the punishment is a matter for the judicial branch, not the executive. Such provisions in legislation are an overreach.
This has long been Labor policy also, but under pressure from the Opposition, the government caved on its principles.
The Quote
“Pathetic…”
is what UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese had to say about the Prime Minister’s refusal to criticise Trump’s illegal Gaza plan.
Podcasts
Hands off our elections | Follow the Money
Australia needs an electoral system that’s genuinely fair, not a two-tiered system that favours the major parties.
Listen now:
Manifest destiny | After America
Associate Professor Clare Corbould joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss US tariffs against its three largest trading partners, the political battle over who gets to be American, and Trump’s imperial ambitions.
Listen now:
The circular economy of bad ideas | Dollars & Sense
Greg and Elinor discuss the December quarter inflation figures, the political battle over the economy, and Dutton’s appointment of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to an Elon Musk-style ‘government efficiency’ position.
Listen now:
What’s On
PERTH | Fossil fuelled insurance premiums | 6pm AWST, Monday 17 February
Join Kate Chaney MP, Karl Mallon and Mark Ogge to find out how climate change is driving up your insurance premiums, what we can expect in the coming years, and what it means for your property.
SYDNEY | Big Ideas: Winning Arguments with Conservatives | 6pm AEDT, Wednesday 19 February
Join Richard Denniss, Amy Remeikis and Greg Jericho, who’ll show you how to change minds by debunking partisan arguments and using evidence persuasively.
FREMANTLE | Big Gas is taking the piss, and what to do about it | 6pm AWST, Thursday 20 February
Join renowned musician and political activist John Butler and the Australia Institute’s Principal Adviser, Mark Ogge to discuss how the gas export industry operating in WA is fueling climate change, wrecking our environment, and capturing our governments…and what we can do about it.
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