March 12, 2024
The Albanese government says it will not reinstate funding to the UN's main provider of humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territories until an investigation into the agency is complete as it prepares for a backlash from the Israeli government and its local advocates.
Sweden and Canada announced in recent days they would resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, prompting calls from pro-Palestinian advocates for Australia to quickly follow suit and unlock $6 million in suspended aid.
Australia and more than a dozen other countries paused funding to UNRWA in January following allegations some of its staff had been involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel, but Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has made clear the government wants to resume funding to the agency as no other organisation can fulfil its responsibilities.
"Australia cannot be involved in funding organisations that have members involved in terrorist activities," Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News yesterday. "So there's an investigation going on into that and we'll make a decision once that investigation is completed."
The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services has delivered an update on its probe into the allegations to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, but it is still gathering information. A separate review into UNRWA for the UN, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, is expected to submit an interim report at the end of March.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was tight-lipped yesterday when asked if the government would restart funding UNRWA, telling ABC Radio: "We are taking advice on what further support we can give.
"But we understand that part of the problem is getting access into Gaza and we consistently have called for that access to be given and we're working with like-minded countries to make sure that can occur."
In the government's strongest indication yet that it is preparing to resume funding, a spokeswoman for Wong said on Sunday: "The Australian government has been working with a group of donor countries, who also paused funding, on the shared objective of rebuilding confidence and ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need."
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said: "Our community favours the provision of aid to civilians in Gaza who are in desperate need, but we are totally opposed to the use of UNRWA as an agency for delivering that aid."
Wertheim said it "would be irresponsible to waste Australian taxpayers' money on UNRWA".
"Instead, Australia could contribute to the US effort to establish a temporary floating pier ... to deliver aid supplies to civilians in Gaza directly, and bypass UNRWA," he said.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini in February said he had fired nine staff members accused of involvement in the October 7 attacks. He had said he had not yet determined whether they were involved.
Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Canada and Sweden's decision to restore funding to UNRWA was a "serious mistake" and that the countries were "continuing to ignore the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity".
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi said the government had moved too slowly to restart funding, asking: "How many more horrifying images of famine-like conditions and starved Palestinians does the Labor government need to see to restore life-saving funding to UNRWA?" Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said: "Australia should only restore its funding when it is confident that there is no risk of any of that funding finding its way to Hamas."
