Israel embassy move: Morrison says there's no evidence 'at this time' of planned violence

Scott Morrison insists there is no evidence “at this time” of any planned violence as a consequence of his proposed shift in Middle East policy as the government launched a police investigation into the leaking of advice from Australia’s spy agency.

Guardian Australia revealed on Thursday that Asio warned ministers the day before Morrison unveiled the shift that a public signal about relocating Australia’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem may “provoke protest, unrest and possibly some violence in Gaza and the West Bank”. It could also possibly trigger domestic protests.

Pressed by Labor about the revelation of the secret intelligence briefing, Morrison characterised the security advice as routine and declared that all was well in the wake of the announcement.

Australia's spy agency warned government Israel embassy move could provoke violent unrest Read more

The prime minister told the chamber Asio “has no evidence at this time of any planned violence in response to the government’s announcement on 16 October”.

As Labor continued to pursue questions about the putative shift in policy position, and a separate leak detailing a negative reaction to it from Indonesia’s foreign affairs minister, Morrison hit back, blasting the New South Wales party for “behaving in an antisemitic way” – a jibe that created uproar on the opposition benches.

Morrison was referring to an incident in NSW where the Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane “banned” the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies from attending the launch of the Labor union multicultural action committee – not to federal MPs.

But voluble protests ensued, including from the Labor frontbencher Ed Husic, who urged Morrison to withdraw the comment. With tensions boiling over in the chamber, the Speaker of the House, Tony Smith, issued a general warning for MPs to temper their contributions.

Morrison declined to withdraw.

The furore was part of a horror week for the Morrison government as the Coalition faces the prospect of losing its one-seat majority in the lower house if the Liberals lose the Wentworth byelection this coming weekend, and the Nationals indulged a fresh round of leadership ructions.

With various polls suggesting the Liberals are in trouble in Malcolm Turnbull’s old seat, the government deployed the former prime minister John Howard in Wentworth on Thursday.

Out on the hustings, Howard backed Morrison’s shift on Israel, a signal that was targeted at Jewish voters in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. “It makes sense you should have the embassy of your country in the capital of the country, where that embassy is located,” the former prime minister said.

Palestinians accuse Australian PM of jeopardising Middle East peace Read more

Howard said there was nothing odd, extreme, or revolutionary about that proposition. He said Palestinian leaders were dragging their heels on a peace settlement. “It remains my view that Israel has gone more than halfway in trying to accommodate a two-state solution”.

Morrison’s shift mimics the policy of the Trump administration. The Coalition considered the implications of Trump’s hawkish position on Jerusalem when Turnbull was the prime minister, and dismissed the idea of Australia following suit because of a judgment that it would harm the bilateral relationship with Indonesia, Australia’s neighbour.

With the Indonesians expressing private discomfort at the shift, a transcript has also emerged of a speech Turnbull made to a thinktank in Washington a week ago where he heaped praise on the president, Joko Widodo, describing him as one of the most “remarkable leaders of our times”.

“Consider this, in a time of increasing global tension, in a time of rising intolerance, here is this man, Joko Widodo – democratically elected, charismatic, popular, and he stands as an advocate just as his nation stands as proof that Islam, moderation and democracy are compatible.

“So for every reason, I have always encouraged President Jokowi to make the strongest possible contribution to global affairs because he stands for and embodies so many of the values that are critical for our future prosperity and security.”

Turnbull also underscored the importance of the Indonesia-Australia free-trade agreement for economic development.

Morrison attempted to end the cluttered political week by appealing to voters to ignore the antics inside what he termed “the Canberra bubble”.

Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) The things that matter. pic.twitter.com/OoKGJ0Zwx4

“The Canberra bubble is what happens down here when people get all caught up with all sorts of gossip and rubbish and that’s probably why most of you switch off any time you hear a politician talk,” Morrison says in the new social media message.

“What’s important is that we have to stay focused on the stuff that really matters and is real”.