It seemed fitting somehow that the word “restraint” would trigger a fresh round of unhinging in Australia’s political discourse. I’m not sure whether this is deeply ironic or entirely predictable.
If you missed the fracas, let’s recap. Last Saturday, horrendous violence erupted in Israel and Gaza. Hamas was on a murderous rampage. As the world watched on in horror, Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, issued a brief statement on social media. Wong condemned the attacks “unequivocally”. She called for “indiscriminate” rocket fire on cities and civilians to stop. She said Israel had the right to defend itself. Then she added boilerplate diplomatic language counselling against escalation. “Australia urges the exercise of restraint and protection of civilian lives,” she said.
