Michaelia Cash’s reckless Netanyahu stunt exposes the Coalition’s dangerous agenda

Michaelia Cash’s latest display in the Senate wasn’t just a spectacle—it was a masterclass in how the Coalition’s brand of politics is division-stoking soap opera.During a fiery exchange with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Cash aggressively demanded to know if Labor would welcome Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Australia. Wong’s response was clear: “We do not engage in hypotheticals.

” Israel’s PM has expressed no intention in coming here. “It’s not a hypothetical” Cash returned (despite it very much being a hypothetical). “I can assure you under a Dutton government, he is welcome here”.



But of course, this was never about a genuine foreign policy debate. Cash’s incessant probing was a calculated ploy to paint Labor as weak while ignoring the elephant in the room: Benjamin Netanyahu has an arrest warrant out from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.By latest statistics, more than 61,700 people are presumed dead in Gaza.

Most are civilians. The devastation is unimaginable, and the ICC has determined there is enough evidence to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant. In light of this, isn’t it deeply problematic that Cash and a prospective Peter Dutton-led Liberal-National government would even entertain the idea of Netanyahu setting foot on Australian soil?Other countries are taking the ICC’s decision seriously.

Canada and multiple European nations have already confirmed that if Netanyahu were to enter their jurisdictions, they would arrest him. Yet here in Australia, we have opposition figures openly positioning themselves as Netanyahu apologists, keen to wine and dine a man accused of cutting off key medical supplies, electricity, food and water to swathes of innocent people. Cash’s grandstanding also stands in stark contrast to what most Australians actually think.

According to a Guardian Essential poll taken at the end of 2024, 56 per cent of Australians believe Anthony Albanese’s government has handled the Middle East crisis well. Of the 1,139 people surveyed, younger voters actually felt that Australia’s response has been too supportive of Israel.So, when Cash and the Coalition claim to represent mainstream Australian values, they’re either deluding themselves or wilfully ignoring the facts.

This is the reality of opposition politics under Dutton: weaponising international conflict for domestic point-scoring, no matter the human cost. Instead of constructive debate on Australia’s role in the world, we get cheap and harmful antics. The potential of Michaelia Cash ending up as our elected Attorney General should instil fear in us all.

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