By Richard Willingham
MINISTERS and MPs have been urged to support Palestine’s bid for statehood by a group of prominent Australians during parliament’s last session for the year.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, whose supporters include former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, church leaders, former ambassadors to Israel, Labor and Greens MPs and businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court, has sent its executive to Canberra for three days to promote Palestinian statehood.
Group president Reverend James Barr said meetings had been held with representatives of the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the shadow foreign minister , as well as MPs from all sides of politics.
Senior officers at AusAID and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were also lobbied.
The group is using a recent poll that found 62 per cent of Australians think Palestine should be accepted as a UN state.