CLAIMS ...by former foreign minister Bob Carr that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten “commissioned” senior Labor frontbencher Tony Burke to move a motion at the party’s national conference in July to recognise a Palestinian state have been dismissed as “absolutely” and “utterly” untrue.
The AJN understands Burke is working with Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek on a resolution resembling the one adopted at the NSW Labor conference last year, which stated that if no progress was made towards a two-state solution “and Israel continues to build and expand settlements, a future Labor government will consult like-minded nations towards recognition of the Palestinian state”.
...Carr was quoted in an article in the Fairfax press on Wednesday as saying: “Bill Shorten has moved on this, that’s why he has commissioned Tony Burke to move the motion at conference.”
...A spokesperson for Shorten, however, told The AJN on Wednesday the claims were false.
“The story is incorrect, the Leader of the Opposition’s position has not changed.”
Meanwhile, a senior figure within the ALP told The AJN the story was “absolutely” and “utterly” untrue and said that Shorten was furious with Carr.
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein denounced the claims as “fabricated mischief-making, aimed at damaging the image of the ALP and its parliamentary leader”...
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