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- “We do not sell arms to Israel.”
At the beginning of the week, Sky News held the first ‘leaders’ debate’ of the election campaign. It wasn’t really a ‘debate’ at all but a ‘people’s forum’ – the audience were all undecided voters from Western Sydney, vetted and selected by an independent market research firm (not by Sky or News Corp), who got to ask their own question. It produced one genuinely impactful moment, thanks to a question asked by Hiba from Toongabbie.
“I have many loved ones affected by the current genocide in Gaza carried out by the Israeli government. At the moment, our taxes are going towards the funding of weaponry aiding the onslaught on the innocent people of Gaza. What are you doing to stop this, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader? What will you do about this if you are elected?”*
You can read the full transcript of the debate here. Dutton gave a non-answer, but I want to draw your attention to one point Albanese made in his response: “I must say though, there are no Australian weaponry involved in what is going on in Gaza. That is just not the case.”
Is that true?
On Friday, the ABC reported that Israel’s military has “completed trials” of a remote weapon system called the R400 RWS, which is designed and built by Canberra-based Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) – it’s use to shoot down drones. The ABC’s article says EOS’ own documents describe the R400 as a “a high-precision weapon platform with the firepower of a 30 mm cannon. The R400 also supports other weapons, such as machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and anti-tank guided missiles. It is compatible with other EOS weapon systems through ‘plug-and-play’ functionality.”
That… sounds like Australian made weaponry to me. But it’s important to clarify. So a journalist asked Albanese at a press conference on Friday about this report:
Reporter: “Prime Minister, an Australia-designed weapons system has been trialled by Israel’s defence force. Will your government move to prevent the sale of any lethal EOS product to Israel?”
Albanese: “We do not sell arms to Israel. I’m are aware of the report that you refer to, we looked into this matter. The company confirmed with the Department of Defence that the particular system was not exported from Australia. Australia does not export arms to Israel.”
Albanese makes very deliberate word choices in this answer. Australia does not sell arms to Israel. The EOS R400 was not exported from Australia.
Both of those statements are likely true on the technicalities. A defence industry source told the ABC that the R400 parts are designed and manufactured in Australia, then sent to EOS operations in the US to be assembled and shipped to Israel from there.
It makes Albanese’s statement ‘true’ on two counts:
Nothing is sold or exported directly to Israel (because it all goes to the US first);
No weapons are supplied by Australia to Israel, only ‘parts’ or ‘components’. The weapon doesn’t exist until it’s assembled somewhere else (conveniently, the country already providing Israel with weapons and billions in military funding).
Both arguments were used by the Albanese government in June 2024 to argue that Australia is not involved in Israel using F35 jets to bomb the citizens and children of Gaza. Because the Australian manufactured parts are sent to Lockheed Martin in the US first, the government believes it simply doesn’t count. I know that I have mentioned this detail several times in this newsletter in the past two years – I intend to keep repeating it until it becomes one of those facts that remains drilled into your brain, never forgotten. Providing this weaponry puts Australia in breach of the International Court of Justice resolution on the occupation of Palestine.
If the technical truth is that Australian-made weapons are not sold to military committing genocide, then the fundamental truth is that Australian-made weapons are sold to a military committing genocide.
The Australian government cannot claim it wants a ceasefire while playing semantics around how (not if) it provides weaponry to a Israel.
*Unbelievably, I must give Sky News credit for not censoring Hiba’s question or the language she used to ask it. Moderator Kieran Gilbert did not correct her for calling it a genocide, he simply directed Albanese to give the first reponse. I was shocked to hear it.
From our Election Special Issue 🗳️
Smart stuff on the Internet 💭
All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:
Is Our Obsession With Trinkets A Recession Indicator? on PedestrianTV
A banger by Zee Feed alumni, Simran Pasricha. "Trinkets are supposed to be collected slowly over time — a lifetime hobby where you savour each new addition. But lately? We’re speeding through collections like there’s no tomorrow (literally) … It’s interesting how some parts of consumer culture often ramp up during recessions as a distraction from systemic issues like wage stagnation and housing insecurity.”
‘Views’ are lies on The Verge
Woah. “In this way of defining views, the platforms also have all the control. Think about it: you don’t press play to get the video going, and you don’t have to stick around for it to count. Whatever the platform wants to get views, gets views. There is no step two, no intermediary, no actual matching of content and audience. There are just… views.”
Peter Dutton has a Problem: He’s a Huge Fucking Freak on The Yeah Nah Review substack
Patrick’s writing makes me laugh so much. “[Dutton] has seemingly spent more time croaking on 2GB to the Divorced Dad Demo than he has in parliament, and is deft at dodging any journalists that might ask him those most dread of questions (“what do you mean by that?” and “how, exactly?”) as a way to keep seeming like anything other than what he very clearly is: a deadshit. This coddling may be the thing that’s fucked him, hilariously. Like all of Australia’s leading rightwing figures, Dutton can only thrive in safe spaces.”
I’m also doing a weekly election podcast with Crikey! You can listen to our most recent ep here: Week Two: Is the minority government ‘dream’ dead?