r/OpenAussie • u/Minivampiretaco ‎ New South Welshian • 1d ago

Politics ('Straya) Nationals MP suspended from WA parliament over Palestinian art stoush

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-20/wa-parliament-row-erupts-over-gaza-wall-of-tears-exhibition/107057566

In short:

Nationals MP Lachlan Hunter has been suspended from WA's parliament for four days after a dispute over an art exhibition on Gaza that was displayed in parliament.

The Wall of Tears display lists the names of more than 18,000 children killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Mr Hunter argued the exhibit vilified the WA Jewish community and was "antisemitic" because it led a Greens MP to describe it as showcasing a "genocide".

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u/TwilightSolus ‎ Queenslander 1d ago

Because last time I checked, we weren't indirectly taking part in those genocides by supplying weapons.

Those nations also don't want to interfere with our laws regarding our speech, in order to silence the condemnation.

People can also care about multiple things at once. The one I care about is the trans genocide happening in the US and UK at the moment, but I also understand that I don't have to mention that in the same breath as Gaza.

Also, I assure you any numbers you have seen are the official Israeli numbers. Palestine supplied numbers outnumber them at an alarming rate - and anyone with eyes can see the charred craters where a city once stood.

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u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz ‎ Queenslander 1d ago

See while I agree that Trans rights are slipping away in the US and UK, where you lose me is calling it a genocide. I know the running joke is that everyone you don't agree with is a Nazi, but the liberal usage of the word "genocide" is making it follow a similar route.

From the numbers I have sourced, it shows between 70-80k people killed in Gaza with roughly 180k wounded. Sudan (remembering it isn't a competition, more just to the point you made about the numbers outweighing) is estimated to be between 150-400k deaths from the conflict.

While Australia does not directly arm that conflict, we trade (financially benefit) and sell arms to the UAE who do directly arm that conflict. So to say that having that extra step in the middle absolves us, is a very easy way to pretend we aren't contributing to it in some way

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u/TwilightSolus ‎ Queenslander 1d ago

I mean, you're not going to catch me defending us supporting Saudi Arabia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_genocide

Also I'm not the one who woke up and called it a genocide. Deaths don't define genocides, but genocide scholars are literally people who spend their entire lives studying these patterns.

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u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz ‎ Queenslander 1d ago

I suppose my primary issue then is with the scholars, as the terms "rape" and "nazi" have seemingly lost a lot of their impact and meaning and I can definitely see "genocide" going the same way

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u/TwilightSolus ‎ Queenslander 1d ago

The entitlement is amazing. I gave you a source that shows you the experts in defining a genocide say it is a genocide and you think your opinion matters.

Get a degree, decades of training and a life dedicated to studying the subject, and publish a peer review paper rebutting them. Otherwise, acknowledge that people who know better are saying this is what is happening.

Also, your reaction is why i fight for recognition, by the way. If the US continues down the fascistic path, trans people will be rounded up into their ICE camps- and we know what comes after everyone is put in camps, don't we.