7th of February 2024, 12:33
Legislative Council of Victoria
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
My question is to the Premier, represented in this place by the Attorney-General. Despite an order from the International Court of Justice that Israel take all measures within its power to prevent the killing of Palestinian civilians, the genocide in Gaza has continued unabated for 123 days. Over 27,000 Palestinians are dead. Two-thirds of them were non-combatants, mostly women and children. Many more are facing starvation as the Israeli blockade continues. Seventy per cent of homes and hundreds of medical facilities have been destroyed. We recently learned that last year the Victorian government signed an MOU with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Many Victorians want to know what is in the MOU given the secrecy around it. So my question to the Premier is: will you heed the people of Victoria’s desire for transparency and release this MOU to the public?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General):
I thank Mr Ettershank for his question to the Premier, and I will pass it on to her and provide a response in accordance with the standing orders.
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
I thank the Attorney-General for her assistance. This government has demonstrated moral leadership on many issues. We were the first state to introduce voluntary assisted dying and medicinal cannabis, and we lead the country with our reconciliation processes with First Nations peoples and our ambitious carbon reduction targets. So I ask: given the ongoing genocide in Palestine, will the Allan government demonstrate a similar level of moral leadership by withdrawing from the MOU with Israel’s defence ministry?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General):
I will pass it on to the Premier.
Written Answer
Received: 10 October 2024
Hon Jacinta Allan MP
(Premier)
Written response
Victoria forms relationships with international businesses and governments to benefit Victoria’s economy, create local jobs, and secure investment opportunities in our priority sectors.
In 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Victorian Government and SIBAT to further trade relations and support Victoria’s priority sectors.
The MoU is one of over 8,000 cooperative international agreements of its kind between Australian states and companies in countries around the world.
It is one of many non-binding agreements that Victoria has signed with other international organisations and governments.
The MoU has nothing to do with the Israel-Gaza War and was signed prior to the War commencing.
No joint projects have been identified so far following the signing of the MoU.
Given Victoria is operating in a globally competitive economic environment, the contents of most of our cooperative arrangements are commercial in confidence, including this MoU.
This is consistent with standard practice of non-disclosure for similar MoU documentation for Victoria and other Australian jurisdictions.
The MOU is listed on the public register, at foreignarrangements.gov.au/public-register.
[ENDS]
