Melbourne Armaments Expo - and protest

Melbourne Weapons Expo
\
On October 7, 2024, Hamas did not have the right to enter an Israeli Kibbutz and slaughter innocent civilians.  However, the Israeli occupation, the denial of Palestinian rights, the imprisonment of Palestinian citizens, and the Zionist project to forcefully remove Palestinians from their land and birthright, is an outrage against which protest is legitimate, morally right and inevitable.  Terrorists are those who take what belongs to others, not those who protest what is taken from them.

In the same way, protesters at the Melbourne weapons expo did not have the right to disrespect the police, use violence, and generally be responsible for anti- social behaviour.  But on the other hand, not only did they have the right to protest the expo, they, along with all Australian citizens, have a moral obligation to confront an industry that is not primarily about world peace but about one of the most lucrative for-profit enterprises on the planet.

2 trillion US Dollars is a lot of money to spend on destruction when a much smaller sum could have been spent on building a fairer and more just world, and in turn become a far more effective way of building harmony and peace. 

It is a lie to suggest investment in armaments is about investment in defence. Investment in armaments is about power and advantage.  Because the US invests twice as much as its nearest rival, it has the capacity to exert power and authority anywhere in the world, often to the great disadvantage and against the will of nations in whose presence this power is being exercised.

Wars waged by the US and supported by Australia in Vietnam, the Middle East and Afghanistan have not made the world a safer place. They have caused needless death and destruction for countless people and damaged the future lives of veterans called upon to serve in these flawed campaigns.

There can be little argument that the greatest legacy of the John Howard years was disarming the Australian domestic population after the Port Arthur massacre.  This action made life for all of us much safer.  Similarly, life in our region has been made much safer through strong ties that have now been made by successive Australian governments with Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic nation. Through diplomacy and generosity Australia, somewhat belatedly, is seeking to build a sense of family and shared commitment amongst all nations in our part of the Pacific. If we genuinely seek security, this is the way forward, not being armed to the teeth.

Christopher Pyne, who made a lightening and lucrative switch to the arms industry after leaving parliament, disingenuously said he was proud of the fact that investment in the arms industry protected the opportunity for protest in the western world.  What protects free speech and the right to protest is a vibrant democracy, not armaments. Indeed, in a vibrant democracy it should not have been possible for links made in politics to be immediately transferable to an industry whose very existence is dependent upon decisions made in politics and investments made by governments. In a democracy, his political career should have made him ineligible for a post political position in which his political knowledge and contacts had become his most valued asset.

The expo is being held in the context of a world dominated by dreadful military campaigns causing death, destruction and mass dislocation on a great scale. In the Sudan it does not appear to matter which side is the purchaser. Weapons have caused a wholesale movement into poverty and exile by vast numbers of the population. It is more than likely that arms exporters sell to both sides.

The Ukrainian conflict is about far more than the integrity of Ukraine.  It is about the relative strength of the Western Alliance vis a vis a resurgent Russia-Soviet ambition. At present everyone is losing, mostly the citizenry, including fighters on both sides who are reportedly dying in their hundreds of thousands. The solution is not going to be that the one with most or biggest weapons will win. The solution is a negotiated way forward. Reliance on armaments alone, on both sides, is the problem, not the solution.

The conflict in Palestine is being prosecuted with armaments designed for mass destruction.  While Israel claims to be using weapons capable of precision targeting this is clearly not happening. Australia has significant contracts with Elbit, the Israeli armament manufacturing company that hones its arms development through actions against Palestinians.  This company has a significant presence at the Melbourne expo.  It has long been clear that Israel’s capacity to prevail against Palestinians is entirely dependent upon armaments. The US is a major supplier of these weapons. Both the US and Australia say they want a ‘two-state’ solution.  The provision of this weaponry guarantees this will never happen and that Israel will fulfil its ambition to denude the Palestinian territories of Palestinians.

The global armament trade is an evil force. It is not about defence or security.  It is about wealth, power and dominance. It is about maintaining a position of advantage, no matter how egregious such a position might be.

The Melbourne protesters are being thoroughly patriotic. If I were in Melbourne I would be attending the protest.  I am deeply sorry the power of the protest has been diminished by behaviours that mimic the activity of those arms traders at whom the protest is directed. The protest itself is very important.