Acknowledgment of the Australian Government’s Announcement on the State of Palestine
Drummond Street Services acknowledges the Australian Government’s recent announcement that it will formally recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations meeting in September. This recognition is an important step towards justice and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and a reminder that their rights, dignity, and humanity must be upheld. However, recognition alone cannot replace the urgent need for immediate action to end the killing, lift the blockade, and hold accountability for war crimes.
The ongoing attacks on civilians in Gaza are a direct assault on our shared humanity. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is illegal under the Geneva Conventions, yet we are witnessing the deliberate blockade of food, water, medicine, and humanitarian aid, alongside the destruction of civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and aid convoys. These actions constitute collective punishment and are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
The human toll is catastrophic. Famine conditions are now widespread, with entire families – particularly children – dying not only from bombardment but from hunger, dehydration, and preventable disease. These are not accidental tragedies but the result of state-sanctioned military policy and intentional deprivation.
As a service provider working with communities affected by displacement, colonisation, and trauma, we see the local impacts of this global violence. Many of our clients and staff – particularly those of Arab, Muslim, and refugee backgrounds – continue to experience grief, fear, and discrimination as they watch a humanitarian catastrophe unfold with far too little international accountability.
We call on the Australian Government to do more to:
- Publicly oppose and take decisive action against the use of starvation as a weapon of war
- Condemn the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the killing of Palestinian people, aid workers and journalists
- Implement or support meaningful accountability measures through international legal systems, including using sanctions
- Suspend political, economic, or military ties with those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Human rights and the protection of life are not selective or optional – they are the foundation of our common humanity.
We restate our solidarity with all communities experiencing occupation, dispossession, and state violence. We urge others in the family services and community sector to speak up, to stand alongside impacted communities, and to reject the normalisation of war crimes.
We must not look away.
