‘I’m above groupthink’: Why Keating snubbed the Israel statement
Paul Keating says he has never been one to subscribe to “groupthink” as he defends his decision to not join Australia’s six other living former prime ministers and sign a statement on the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
Mr Keating’s name was conspicuously absent from the statement, released on Monday, which supported the Jewish and Palestinian communities and urged all Australians to not allow society to be divided by the “grotesque cruelty and violence” perpetrated by Hamas.
Paul Keating snubbed this 2000 dinner with Queen Elizabeth and past and present prime ministers. AP
The former prime ministers – Liberals John Howard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, and Labor’s Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard – called on Australians of all faiths, and of no faith, to treat each other with “love and respect”.
“Our nation’s success depends on us not allowing conflict overseas to turn Australians against each other,” they said.
The statement was the brainchild of former treasurer Josh Frydenberg and originally drafted by the Zionist Federation of Australia.
Mr Keating was contacted about the statement last week by prominent Jewish community member Mark Liebler.
Mr Keating said the first draft he saw was too “sharp”, or biased, and he said it needed to be more balanced.
More even-handed
While still harbouring this concern, Mr Keating was aggrieved to read a story in the Sunday tabloid newspapers that he had agreed to be a signatory to the statement condemning the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
Feeling he had been “seriously verballed”, he resolved then and there to never sign it. This is despite Mr Turnbull stepping in on Sunday and rewriting the statement to make it far more even-handed.
Mr Keating said he told Mr Turnbull his efforts were ultimately pointless because, as a “general statement of principle”, he had never in his 27 years out of office participated in joint actions by former prime ministers.
“I can do better than groupthink,” he said.
Mr Keating pointed to his refusal to join Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, John Howard, John Gorton and Gough Whitlam on a trip to Buckingham Palace in 2000 to dine with the Queen.
Nor has he ever been a co-signatory to joint former prime ministerial statements, “despite being asked on many occasions”.
Moreover, Mr Keating said he was not particularly fond of Mr Howard, Mr Abbott and Mr Morrison.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sidestepped when asked for his thoughts on Mr Keating’s decision.
“That’s a question for Paul Keating, I would have thought,” he said.
“I support the positions that I’ve taken, and the position in the parliament last Monday was done with overwhelming support.”
Mr Albanese repeated the government’s concern for the rising death toll among civilians in Gaza, saying that while Israel had every right to defend itself, how it did that also mattered.
“It is important that we recognise that the attacks from Hamas on Israel are worthy of absolute condemnation in an unequivocal way,” he said.
‘Humanity and skill’
“It’s also important to recognise that Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it does that matters. And we need to make sure as well, that every civilian life is valued, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian.”
The joint statement from the six former prime ministers reflected this view as well.
“We do not presume to give strategic advice to Israel, but the legitimate objective of defeating Hamas must be accompanied by support and protection for the civilian population of Gaza,” it said.
“Israel promises it will do all it can to avoid civilian casualties, we urge it to do so with all of its humanity and skill.”
The Israeli community welcomed the statement, while the Palestinian community condemned it as not being sufficiently critical of Israel.
Phillip Coorey is the political editor based in Canberra. He is a two-time winner of the Paul Lyneham award for press gallery excellence. Connect with Phillip on Facebook and Twitter. Email Phillip at pcoorey@afr.com