O'Connor DamienHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Labour): I acknowledge the motion being put up by the Government on this tragic issue. I also move That the words call on all parties involved in the conflict as well as countries with influence in the region to take urgent steps towards establishing a ceasefire;" be replaced with "urgently calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank and Israel to put a halt to the inhumane and appalling attacks and violence so that a journey to a lasting peace can begin and calls on countries in the area to support that ceasefire;". New Zealand has a proud history of an independent foreign policy. We have over the decades stood up for what is right. We set up a social welfare system. We supported the set-up of the United Nations and all its principles. We supported the World Trade Organization because we know of the importance of this. There can be no prosperity without peace—we have seen that through the world time and time again. I was proud to represent our country at APEC—a joining of economies focused on economic prosperity. The issue of Ukraine was raised—we'd been talking about that terrible situation for at least over twelve months. The situation in Gaza is absolutely appalling. No person with any ounce of moral courage can see this as anything but horrific; nothing more than a genocide. And I call upon Israel a nation that has been set up and seeks sympathy and support because of the Holocaust and the outrageous outcomes—I call on that nation to look at itself and to apply the same humanity to the people of Palestine.This is a critical time for the world. We cannot stand back and look at images that come to each and every one of us—many images many video clips much social media coming to us; it brings tears to my eyes. It drives me to rage to think what we can do as human beings to one another. We were appalled by what happened in the 1940s and the Holocaust. How then can a nation impose that upon another race of people? We have as a nation supported a two-State solution; we'll continue to do that. We must respect the rights of the people of Israel and the people of Palestine but bombing and killing and slaughtering women and children who have nothing to do with this other than to have been born as a Palestinian—that is outrageous. We as a country have been a little slow in calling for a ceasefire. That is the very minimum because until a ceasefire is imposed and people can sit down and talk there can be no peace and there can be no prosperity; there can be no humanity. Just look at the eyes and the faces of young children who have lost their parents who don't know what is going on around them—who we pray may have a future life somewhere—how will they address those atrocities that horror into the future? I'm proud to be here and I'm sure everyone in this House is here for the right reason. We've come here to build a better world. We are lucky to be an island nation a long way from both of those major conflicts. But if we think we can prosper as an island nation without peace elsewhere in the world we are kidding ourselves. We acknowledge that in trade; well we have to acknowledge it in humanity. So I acknowledge the Government's motion and on behalf of the Labour Party we support the call for a ceasefire a call for an end to this depravity this genocide this slaughter—that's what it is. No nice words can change the reality of that for women children and innocent people in Gaza and now increasingly in the West Bank. There is no excuse for what might have started this but you can look at the Prime Minister of Israel who's been under suspicion of corruption and bribery since 2019 and ask the question—well people think this is horrific. What I say is look to the causes of why we could do this to innocent women and children—why anyone would. It is impossible almost to understand but we have to identify the causes and call on nations who share our quest for a humane and peaceful world to do everything they can to try and firstly impose a ceasefire and then to impose a process of peace that will bring some harmony to the people in the Middle East."