The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to answer questions about a pro-Palestine protest outside his electorate office that’s been going on for weeks, as the same organisers interrupted Question Time on Monday.
The 24-hour sit-in outside Anthony Albanese’s office in Sydney’s Marrickville began on February 11, and since then hundreds of people have showed up to take part, according to organisers.
“People are here at all hours of the day … it’s been a very peaceful event, it’s been a community event”, Palestinian community organiser Fahad Ali, 30, told Crikey.
The organisers have taken their protest to Canberra too — a group that interrupted question time in Parliament on Monday were linked to the Marrickville sit-in. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was interrupted by shouts of “ceasefire now” while he was attempting to answer a question, before the protesters were removed by security, SBS News reported.
“For five months we’ve protested [Albanese’s] complicity in this genocide. For five weeks we’ve stood at his door. On the sixth week, we decided to wait no more,” protester Emad Al Hatu told Crikey.
“Actions have consequences. The hypocrisy of this prime minister has united his constituents. His silence only escalates the civil unrest. We take action where he stands in silence.”
Crikey first sought comment from the prime minister’s media team on March 11 and didn’t hear anything back for seven days, despite repeated phone calls and emails.
On Monday, when a spokesperson finally did respond to the inquiry, they declined to make any comments on the record. Crikey had sent a list of questions, asking whether anyone from the prime minister’s staff had met with the protesters; what Albanese’s thoughts were about the sit-in; whether he’d been in the electorate office since it began; and whether the protest had disrupted the prime minister’s work in any way.
The activists say they, too, have been met with silence from Albanese’s office.
“There has been no response from Albanese’s office to any of our inquiries, they’ve made no attempt to engage with us or to meet with us,” Ali said.
“We’re going to be here, at a bare minimum, until Albo meets with us. It’s as simple as that — meet with the community, meet with your own constituents.”
Crikey has visited the sit-in multiple times over the past few weeks and seen protesters present at all hours of the day. Typically, in the daytime, a handful of people will be sitting in camping chairs on the sidewalk, beside an improvised mural of flyers and posters and a table of snacks and water. At times, the crowd has swelled to many times that size, including last Friday when protesters staged a “die-in” on the sidewalk, lying down in a heap to represent Palestinian victims of the conflict with Israel.
According to organisers, about 700 volunteers have signed up for a roster to make sure the sidewalk is never empty — two to three people at least are always present, day and night.
Kos Samaras, a former Labor strategist and director of polling firm Redbridge, said that a sustained movement pressuring Labor on the Gaza conflict may impact the government’s results at the next federal election.
“It will cost Labor something — it may cost them a seat or two versus the Greens, and it may cost them primary votes in safer seats,” Samaras told Crikey. “It may create more of an opportunity for independents like Dai Le to be elected in safe Labor seats.”
“The Muslim community obviously feels quite passionate about this issue, and I wouldn’t dismiss the potential impact that might have in creating a Fowler-type result.”
Albanese has repeatedly said his government has a “consistent position” on the Israeli war in Gaza, which has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry reported by the Associated Press.
“[Our joint statements with Canada and New Zealand] have condemned the terrorist act by Hamas on October 7. They’ve called for the release of hostages. They’ve called for a sustainable ceasefire,” Albanese told reporters last Wednesday.
“They’ve called for humanitarian assistance to be able to be delivered to the people of Gaza. They have called for a long-term political solution in which you have a two-state solution, is what is required.
“We’ll continue to look at avenues for further humanitarian support for the people of Gaza, who are suffering terribly. And we’ll continue to say that innocent lives, too many have been lost, both Israeli and Palestinian.”
Protest organisers say they want Australia to provide consular support for Palestinian families in the warzone, humanitarian visas to be provided to Palestinians arriving in Australia, and an unconditional ceasefire, among other demands.
