00:00Well, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is over there in New York addressing the United Nations
00:07about Australia's move alongside other countries to recognise Palestine.
00:12Back here in Australia, opposition leader Susan Lee has written to Republicans in the
00:17United States saying that she opposes this move by Australia.
00:22Now, the reason that she has written this letter is because in recent days, just before
00:27Australia sort of formally recognised Palestine at the UN, 25 Republicans wrote to the leaders
00:34of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France, urging them to not go ahead with this
00:40move, calling it misguided and reckless policy.
00:44They also pointed out that it would be at odds with the United States and warned that there
00:50might be punitive measures as a result of that.
00:53It wasn't clear exactly what they were talking about there.
00:56So Susan Lee has responded saying that in a future coalition government, she would look
01:02to reverse this decision.
01:04Now, it must be said that a future coalition government would be at least a few years away
01:08because we've only just had an election in May.
01:11And she did point out in that letter too that she does want a two-state solution into the
01:15future, but under different conditions when hostages had already been released, she's saying,
01:21and Hamas is removed from Gaza.
01:23So those are the preconditions that she would like to see.
01:26Now, the government has hit out.
01:28Foreign Minister Penny Wong says that the opposition is running rogue foreign policy and that this
01:34is not in Australia's interest.
01:36Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Miles has responded too.
01:40We would hope that in respect to foreign policy, Australia speaks with one voice.
01:47And obviously, the opposition has its right to have its view.
01:52It is another step indeed to start writing to representatives of countries abroad.
02:00But that is ultimately a matter for the opposition.
02:03Now, overnight, Susan Lee has also had a phone call with Israel's Foreign Minister,
02:10Gidon Saar, where she's expressed this same opposition.
02:14He, in response, has said that he appreciated that message from Susan Lee and has invited her
02:20to come and visit him in Israel.
02:22So, thank you very much for joining us today.
