AAA<\/p>\n
Rebel MP Ed Husic says Labor\u2019s determination to avoid public policy stoushes will push voters to One Nation, after the party killed off his attempt to force debate about the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n
In a move which frustrated Husic\u2019s colleagues, the former minister defied Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by pushing a change to the party\u2019s platform at its national conference on Saturday.<\/p>\n
![\"Ed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9d14150e3436dd9fc109ebee8057c6b005e15fa9.jpeg\")
Ed Husic speaks to the media on Saturday.Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n
Husic\u2019s motion went well beyond the government\u2019s policies, using the term \u201capartheid\u201d and cracking down on dual nationals serving in the Israel Defence Forces.<\/p>\n
Factional bosses and ministers feared that a debate on Husic\u2019s proposal could have created the impression that the government was not in control of its foreign policy, so mobilised to shut it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been surprised at the extraordinary amount of energy that has been applied to stop this,\u201d Husic said after his proposal was killed off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always taken the view there\u2019ll be different views. You\u2019ve got to be able to work through them. That\u2019s democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"MPs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d3f754c3a2b3cae1047c02621ead56a892d4c1ab.jpeg\")
MPs Josh Burns and Basem Abdo at Labor\u2019s national conference on Saturday.Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n
The Maritime Union of Australia was on Friday expected to support Husic\u2019s resolution, a step required to bring on a debate that was due to add drama to the final day of Labor\u2019s triennial get-together.<\/p>\n
But after talks on Friday night and Saturday morning, the union backed down, meaning the proposal never reached the point of being debated.<\/p>\n
Related Article Husic\u2019s camp claims the union was pressured into folding. Sources in the government say Husic\u2019s failure to find a delegate to second his resolution proved he was isolated.<\/p>\n The western Sydney MP has led the charge on a range of left-wing campaigns<\/a>, including a gas export tax, at an otherwise well-controlled conference in Adelaide.<\/p>\n Husic held a press conference on Saturday at the same time as two Labor MPs spoke on the conference floor, in an attempt to show unity after years of divisive debates in the party over its position on the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can put me in the freezer, I don\u2019t give a shit,\u201d Husic said when asked if the government would punish him.<\/p>\n The pro-Palestine figure made the comments on the sidelines of the Adelaide Convention Centre at the same time as Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, who has Palestinian heritage, were speaking jointly in the auditorium in support of the government\u2019s position.<\/p>\n Husic\u2019s decision to draw a crowd of journalists to his press conference as Burns and Abdo spoke sparked anger among Labor figures. One, who asked not to be named, said: \u201cEd making this whole week about himself with no care for the party should surprise nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n The position supported by Abdo and Burns strengthened condemnation of Israel and dropped a line about forcing Hamas to disarm, sparking concern from the Israeli embassy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis motion is not designed to encompass everything,\u201d Abdo said. \u201cIt does not seek to prescribe, to describe, or ascribe every responsibility to every party. Nor does it seek to list every circumstance or point that needs addressing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredibly difficult few years on what is an already very difficult issue. No single motion can do justice to it. What it is, is a motion of the Australian Labor Party, a party of government and a party for all Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Penny Wong praised Burns and Abdo on the floor for proving that \u201ceven on struggles that have divided the world for generations, Australian Labor can come together and find common ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Burns, who like Abdo was facing pressure from voices outside the party to take a firmer position, told how Abdo phoned him after the Bondi massacre, demonstrating that, \u201cwe can, and we should, hold two truths at once.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile grieving for his own people, he stood in solidarity with Jewish Australians in our time of pain. History shows, one of the finest sons of our Labor Party tried to help create a shared future for Israelis and Palestinians alike,\u201d Burns said.<\/p>\n A senior Labor official said Husic, while retaining support among some grassroots members and Labor anti-war groups, had alienated himself from his own Right faction, the Left, and the union movement.<\/p>\n \u201cHis petulance stood in stark contrast to Josh and Basem,\u201d the source, who also did not want to go on record on slamming Husic, said.<\/p>\n Albanese, who has drawn the ire of Husic since dumping him from cabinet last year, emphasised unity in his sign-off speech at the conference, which the government has used to demonstrate stability<\/a> and set itself up for a re-election bid.<\/p>\n Labor figures including former ministers Kim Carr and Gareth Evans have supported Husic\u2019s view that the party is not a vibrant hub for policy debate.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my view, this is the most purposeful and united national conference I have attended since I joined the Labor Party,\u201d Albanese said on Saturday.<\/p>\n Husic\u2019s motion urged the government to acknowledge an International Court of Justice finding that Israel\u2019s actions in the West Bank represented a breach of the racial discrimination convention \u201cwhich prohibits segregation and apartheid\u201d.<\/p>\n It also called for full diplomatic ties with a Palestinian state, which Labor formally recognised last year in part to head off anger in Labor branches about its stance on the conflict. Husic said there was a plausible claim that Israel had engaged in genocide.<\/p>\n In a jab at Albanese, who often brandishes a Medicare card when talking about healthcare, Husic held up his Labor membership card and said cards \u201cget bandied about\u201d before criticising the party\u2019s culture under Albanese.<\/p>\n \u201cThe inconvenient truth\u201d, Husic said, was that the rise of One Nation<\/a> was happening \u201cunder our watch\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve often said that this is a scrub fire that started in the conservative fringe and has come over to us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the big test for us is one of the big parties is to be able to show that we\u2019re willing to take stands on issues and to also bring people along.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a competitor that a lot of people talk about now that is energised. It\u2019s attracted a lot of members. They feel their party listens to them, and they\u2019re attracted by the idea that this is a party that\u2019ll stand up for what they think is right for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Ed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/efa97e7bb662656dec89016e93c5f14325251e5f.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767789310_197_119281a2607761852c4e3d0bae521b8cb3f98cb4.png\")
Paul Sakkal<\/a> is Chief Political Correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and won a Walkley award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.![\"Natassia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769326452_497_0fb5deab2dcc05eb259ce66b5d04bb294f5fea43.png\")
Natassia Chrysanthos<\/a> is Federal Political Correspondent. She has previously reported on immigration, health, social issues and the NDIS from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-822449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}