The Australian government is so close to Israel it hurts the Jewish state’s jaw. So this news shows a) the hatred of the Zionist lobby towards the Palestinians, any Palestinians and b) the belief of the Rudd elites to only give rudimentary at best support for Palestinian rights:
The federal Government has denied a shift in Middle East policy, despite changing Australia’s vote in the United Nations on a motion on Palestinian self-determination.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Australia’s UN voting pattern is strongly based on the country’s “long-standing support for the Middle East peace process”, including a two-state solution.
Representatives of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC)… wrote to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister asking for an explanation about the vote change.
The vote in question was in a committee of the General Assembly earlier this month. The motion reaffirms the right of Palestinian people to self-determination and urges all states to help the Palestinian people realise this.
While the motion itself is not considered controversial, preceding statements refer to the International Court of Justice’s controversial ruling on Israel’s security barrier; to East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian state; and to Palestinian relief agencies, which some argue have been found to do more to exacerbate Palestinian problems than solve them.
In previous years, Australia has abstained on the vote, but this year the country voted in favour.