Federal parliamentarians are taking significantly more privately-sponsored trips to Israel than any other country according to a new research report.
Information gathered by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network from the parliamentary register of interests shows 18 percent of all sponsored trips between June 2018 and April 2022 were to Israel, with the next closest destinations being Taiwan (12%), and the USA (11%).
While both Taiwan and the USA are amongst Australia’s top 10 export markets, Israel is a very minor trading partner – representing 0.1% of Australian exports.
Sponsored trips to Israel also do not mirror community movements – in 2019, less than 0.2% of Australian overseas travel was to Israel.
“Parliamentarians must consider the flow-on impact of these junket trips on Australian public policy,” Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President, Bishop George Browning said.
“We need to ensure this doesn’t lead to reluctance to hold Israel to account.”
Former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, was also critical of the findings, saying “APAN’s report confirms what was never in doubt: the Israel lobby is the largest foreign influence operation run in Australia – at least since the end of pro-Soviet propaganda and marketing during the Cold War.
“The trips and the other activities have only one objective and that’s to see that no matter what Israel does – spreading settlements, for example, or bulldozing Palestinian homes – it will never be criticised by Canberra.”
Read the article by APAN in The National Tribune.