In north Queensland, where it is still pouring with rain, Anthony Albanese is again asked about Donald Trump’s throwing away of international law, as he declared the United States would illegally ‘own’ Gaza and turn it into another Riverina, ethincially cleansing the Palestinian people by their forced displacement into surrounding states and says:

We support the same position today that we did yesterday, the same position today that we did yesterday morning and the day before. Our position has been long standing and position has been long standing and bipartisan, two states in the region, the state of Israel having to right to exist and recognised by the states around it, living in peace and security. And the right of Palestinians to live in their own state as well. That’s our long standing position. It remains our standing position.

Francesca Albanese was also scathing of countries which have not stood up for Palestine, or international law. She says:

If Australia is not ready to recognize the state of Palestine, it has nothing to say about how the two state solution is done. It has nothing to contribute with when it comes to the two state solution, but it still has obligations under international law not to aid and assist a system that is committing international crimes as Israel is doing.

Asked what the people in Gaza are going through, Albanese says:

I will try, although not being a Gaza person myself, I might have my own limitations. You will appreciate that. But one thing is clear is that for 16 months now, the world has been completely oblivious about the suffering of the Palestinians.

There are nearly 70,000 people who have been killed in Gaza. 40% of the Palestinians in Gaza are taking care of children who are not theirs, and this is because dozens of thousands of children have become orphans. It’s incredible.

I mean, 70% of the victims are women and children, and has been steadily so since October, and it’s all documented what I’m saying.

The people in Gaza are special, and those who have been to Gaza understand what I’m saying. They’re extremely resilient. They’ve gone through five major wars between 2007 and 2023 and now through a genocide and assault, and they still remain resilient, but still we shouldn’t romanticise these [people].

These are highly traumatised people. There are medical experts who who say that everyone in Gaza is in need for psychological counseling. There are 5000 people who have completely lost cognitive capacity. On top of the 100,000 of people who are wounded, there are genocide survivors, and we don’t know what’s going to happen to them.

So now imagine, in all this coming back to the rubble as they collect the the remains of their their community, because northern Gaza is not just rubble, it is littered with bodies of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli army. And while this happens, they hear a guy in the US president who says that is going to that he owns Gaza and is going to forcibly remove them? Hey, they might be laughing. I mean, knowing the people in Gaza, they might be laughing saying, ‘who’s this idiot?’

The Prime Minister is in Queensland this morning, visiting the flood zone, so probably didn’t listen to Francesca Albanese’s interview live. But he is about to appear on ABC News Breakfast TV, where he will no doubt be asked about it.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese is speaking to ABC Radio RN Breakfast about Donald Trump’s illegal declaration about ‘owning’ Gaza yesterday.

In her typical forthright fashion, Albanese sticks to the law, and history, in her answers about how she is viewing the world’s response to Gaza and Palestine.

She calls Anthony Albanese’s refusal to comment on Trump’s illegal declaration “pathetic” and says she understands why Australians’ “want another Albanese”.

When one question comes with the preface “in terms of the allegations of genocide, for what has already occurred (in Gaza) these, of course, were allegations that are brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice, they remain as allegations at this stage, because that court process is yet to be resolved” Albanese interrupts and says:

Excuse me, would you say the same thing of the Armenian genocide because there was not an ICJ determination? Would you say the same thing of the Jewish genocide because there was not the determination? Would you say the same thing of the Aboriginal genocide in Australia? So excuse me, I mean, there has never been such a consensus of human rights organisation in genocides, scholars and others that this is genocide. However, keep on telling what you think, but this is a genocide, and even if it was not that, in January last year, the ICJ recognised the plausible risk of genocide. This should have been enough to trigger the responsibility of countries to intervene. What international community, including Australia have done is no thing this is what we need to talk about.

Sorry to interrupt you.

Good morning and welcome to Thursday, also known as parliament Friday.  Parliament will sit again next week, but Thursday sittings usually mean the MPs are a little antsy and start looking at the exits.  Particularly in election years.

But first there is the business of the day to get through.  Labor is looking at what amendments to the hate law legislation it takes on and that now includes mandatory sentencing.  Tony Burke came back into the house late last night to say Labor would support the Coalition push for mandatory minimum sentences for terrorism offences, which would mean a minimum sentence of one year in prison for anyone found guilty of terrorism or displaying a Nazi symbol or making the Nazi salute.

That goes against the Labor party platform, which is against mandatory minimum sentences, as their effectiveness is under question, while also taking away power from the courts to apply discretion. Still, we are in an election year and Labor has been facing unrelenting pressure from the Coalition on this issue, with Peter Dutton accusing Anthony Albanese of being ‘weak’. So here we are.

Health minister Mark Butler is continuing to spruik the $1.7bn in additional health spending the government announced yesterday, which is a one year deal struck with the states and territories and is to be used to clear some of the emergency wait times for surgery.

Labor is clearing the decks ahead of the election, where it is trying to minimise as many issues as possible.  The Bruce Highway funding deal was another example of that.

Meanwhile, Richard Marles will fly to Washington later this afternoon for a meeting with Trump appointee Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host with white supremacist tattoos who will now head up the US Defence portfolio. The Albanese government has refused to say anything against Trump’s illegal plan to ‘own’ Gaza and forcibly displace the Palestinian people into surrounding states.

We’ll cover all the day’s events and more – so hope you stick with us. I’ve got my third coffee on the stove, and am eyeing off the chocolate box. It is going to be one of those days.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.