Penny Wong says NSW Labor won’t dictate party’s position on Palestine

Tanya Plibersek will not support a New South Wales Labor conference motion which urges the next Labor government to recognise Palestine.

The deputy Labor leader said she supported the current federal Labor position which states if there was no progress on a two-state solution, Labor would work with other likeminded countries on the timetable and preconditions for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

“It’s fine to have these debates at state conference,” she said.

“Of course, the state conference doesn’t determine Labor party foreign policy – that’s done by the federal parliamentary Labor party and the federal conference of the Australian Labor party.”

Asked if that meant she would vote against the motion, Plibersek said: “I will be supporting the federal Labor parliamentary party position on the recognition of a two-state solution.”

Read the article by Gabrielle Chan in The Guardian.