Australia must oppose Israel’s mandatory death penalty proposal for Palestinians

In Australia we abolished the death penalty long ago because justice is meant to restrain vengeance, not legitimise it. Killing is irreversible, courts are fallible, the risk of executing an innocent person is real, and human dignity isn't something government's can switch on and off.

And our stance isn't just domestic. It is a principled position we promote internationally through the Government's own strategy, which puts it plainly: "Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all people". If we mean that, it has to apply even when it's awkward.

That's why the latest developments in Israel demand a clear Australian response. UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, has urged Israel to drop draft laws that impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians under certain circumstances - in both the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. He warned the proposal raises serious concerns about discrimination against Palestinians and violations of due process, and that it conflicts with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

Now let's be clear, this isn't some fringe claim doing the rounds online. It is the UN’s top human rights official, speaking on the record, in an official UN press release.

The death penalty is already the most extreme power a state can exercise. Make it mandatory and you strip away judicial discretion. Make it apply “exclusively” to one people and you turn punishment into identity-based discrimination with lethal consequences. That's not justice. It's a two-tier system of apartheid where one group is marked for the harshest possible penalty by design.

You can see the problem instantly by doing the thought experiment at home. If we were to reintroduce the death penalty in Australia, but only for one ethnic group, or one religious group, it would be racist, abhorrent, and incompatible with equal justice.

So Australia must speak up now. Not because we're taking sides or targeting Israel, but because we must defend basic principles for all human beings: the right to life, equal protection under the law, and the idea that justice can't be built on discrimination.

I've already written to Foreign Minister Penny Wong to urge clear and strong oppostion from Australia and supporting the UN's position. In that letter I asked Australia to: publicly back the UN, reaffirm our opposition to mandatory and discriminatory death penalties, and raise these concerns directly with Israeli.

I've published the letter as a PDF here.

Feel share this video and draw on my letter. Write to the Foreign Minister and your local MP and Senators. Ask them one simple question: will Australia apply its opposition to the death penalty consistently, including when Palestinians are being singled out?

Because silence is not neutrality. Silence is a choice.