In the final parliamentary sitting of 2024, the Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia package passed, heralded by Labor as a cornerstone of their economic agenda.
This package directs hundreds of millions of dollars to defence companies, with aspirations to make Australia the largest manufacturer of US weapons outside the United States.
This is a step toward deepening Australia’s role as a global top ten weapons exporter.
As part of the legal team that referred the Australian Prime Minister and others to the International Criminal Court earlier this year, I have closely followed the bill’s progress. From the start, I urged the Greens to push for explicit safeguards against funding companies linked to genocide and human rights violations.
This package presented a crucial test for the Greens, whose support for Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza genocide had been a central part of their grassroots rhetoric. It was time to see if their actions would match their words.
The Greens’ response
Greens Senator Nick McKim drafted a dissenting report, in which he mentioned, in passing, the potential genocide risk posed by the package. In his report, McKim wrote:
“Under [the Future Made in Australia] Bills, there are no limitations on what will be funded by the Treasury or Export Finance Australia as necessary to advance our ‘economic security and resilience’. This could mean manufacturing weapons to send into occupied territories and war zones.”
Despite this acknowledgment, no amendments were proposed to address the concerns raised. However, by the time the bill passed, the Greens failed to act. They voted for the package without introducing any amendments to prevent it from supporting genocide-linked industries.
In a press release celebrating the Future Made in Australia deal, the Greens highlighted their environmental wins, such as safeguards against fossil fuel investments. However, they failed to mention any safeguards against genocide-linked defence industries.
The Greens’ failure to act
The Greens’ failure to propose amendments or even register concern sent a troubling message. It signalled that, for all their rhetoric, the party was not prepared to use its political leverage to ensure that Australia’s defence sector does not contribute to genocide.
Recently the Albanese Government has announced $20 billion for defence contractors flagged by the UN for crimes in Gaza. Additionally, five billion dollars’ worth of military exports now go to the US without the normal checks thanks to an AUKUS law passed in March.
The Greens’ missed opportunity to show substance
With the federal election just months away, the Greens had a critical opportunity to take real action. They could have insisted on legislative safeguards to ensure that Australian taxpayers’ money would not subsidise companies complicit in genocide.
They could have used their leverage to hold the Albanese government accountable for its role in enabling the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza. Instead, the Greens chose not to push for any meaningful change.
While Labor’s complicity is far more egregious, the Greens’ failure to act will cause deep community concern. By voting for the package without amendments, the Greens joined Labor in sending us a signal that our human rights simply don’t matter.
The stakes for the Greens: A turning point
Non-government independent senators, including Lidia Thorpe and Fatima Payman, recently introduced a set of crucial legislative measures aimed at cutting off capital flows to companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements and genocide.
The three Bills—Treasury Laws Amendment (Divesting from Illegal Israeli Settlements) Bill 2024, Defence Trade Controls Amendment (Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity) Bill 2024, and Genocide Risk Reporting Bill 2024—seek to align Australia with global efforts to stop the funding of genocide-linked industries.
The Greens now have another opportunity to take a firm stand. If they fail to support these Bills, it will imply the following positions:
- The Future Fund and charities should continue investing in illegal Israeli settlements, despite the government’s position that they are unlawful under international law.
- Australia should retain the right to supply arms to nations flagged by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention.
- Australia should allocate $20 billion to defence contractors without requiring them to disclose genocide risks in their supply chains.
A moral imperative for the Greens
The Greens, who claim to stand for human rights, cannot afford to remain passive or at the sidelines. These Bills need the full support of the crossbench, including the Greens.
Fighting for these Bills and using every ounce of their political leverage to ensure their passage is not just an opportunity for the Greens—it is an unequivocal moral imperative.
To fail in this moment would not only harm their credibility but also render them irrelevant in the very cause they claim to champion.
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