Hunter residents ‘appalled’ by Gaza war stage ‘die-in’

By Anna Falkenmire

Updated March 15 2024 - 6:10pm, first published 4:41pm

HUNTER residents “appalled” at what they have witnessed unfolding in Gaza have conducted a “die-in” to call on the Australian government to step in.

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie community members gathered as part of a National Day of Action on Friday at the office of Shortland MP and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy.

The group carried dummies of bloodied bodies shrouded in white sheets as they conducted a silent procession to the to the “horrific sounds of massacres in Gaza”.

They then lay down outside the office in a symbolic show of solidarity, spokesperson for the local group Alison Harwood said.

“The Albanese Government is at odds with the Australian people, who are appalled with what they are witnessing in Palestine,” she said.

She said the government was not acting in a way that aligned with the cries for a ceasefire that had “resonated across the country in past months”.

The Day of Action on March 15 saw groups gather at mass “die-ins” at the offices of federal parliamentarians in Australia.

Ms Harwood said it sent a strong message that the government needed to take more effective action against Israel.

“We see a lot of empty gestures from this government, but no real action,” she said.

Protesters demanded the federal government call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, cut all military ties with Israel, and fulfil its obligations under the Convention to Prevent and Punish Genocide.

A five week- long community picket at the Prime Minister’s Sydney office, dubbed Little Palestine by locals, was one of the communities that joined Hunter residents today.

A war broke out when Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7 last year.

Israel then launched an air, sea and ground assault that has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza have said.