Australian politicians will go to extraordinary lengths to obfuscate, excuse and lie about their country’s arms trade with Israel but recent investigations by human rights groups, independent media and the Australian Greens reveal that Australia is in breach of every international law prohibiting the sale of arms to countries committing war crimes.

 

Nothing to See Here: Australia’s Hidden Arms Trade With Israel

       By Stefan Moore / Consortium News

 

Among the most egregious examples is Australia’s contribution to Israel’s Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — the most technologically advanced and lethal fighter jet in the world. Each plane can carry a payload of up to 10 massive bombs — four internally and six mounted on the wings – each capable of obliterating apartment buildings, schools and hospitals and atomising the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians.  Every day in Gaza, survivors of these attacks comb through the rubble for the remains of their loved ones. 

Australia plays a critical role in the global supply chain of parts for Israel’s F-35 fighter jets.  As reported by Declassified Australia, the “update actuators” that open the bomb bay doors are supplied by Rosebank Engineering in Melbourne. The “weapons adaptors” that release the bombs are supplied by Ferra Engineering in Brisbane. 

Australia’s insistence that it does not sell weapons to Israel is both false and nonsensical.  When questioned about the sale of F-35 parts by Greens Sen. David Shoebridge in Parliament, Deputy Defence Secretary Hugh Jeffrey claimed that the mechanisms used to open the F-35 bomb bay doors are not weapons because weapons are “whole systems” and not parts like a bomb door opener which he ridiculously compared to a pencil that can either be used to write or as a weapon. 

Despite the deputy defence secretary’s claim that Australia’s sale of F-35 parts does not violate international law, it is clearly prohibited by the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (to which Australia is a signatory) that stipulates in Article 6(3) “arms transfers should be prohibited if the state knows that the weapons will be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.” Specifically, the Treaty restricts the export of weapons “parts and components.” 

For Australian politicians, any discussion of Australia’s arms trade with Israel hits a raw nerve. When Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong was asked about the F-35 parts sales by Sen. Shoebridge in parliament, instead of answering the question truthfully (that either she didn’t know or that she was aware that Australia is part of the F-35 supply chain) she aggressively attacked Shoebridge for spreading “misinformation and disinformation” that was being spread on social media.

But Australia’s sale of weapons parts to Israel is not restricted to the F-35.

Other weapons components include the engines for Israeli Thunder B drones manufactured by  Currawong Engineering in Tasmania and the launch and control systems for Israel’s Spike guided missiles made by Varley-Rafael Australia.

And it’s now been revealed (here and here) that Australia’s lethal exports to Israel include not just parts but entire weapons systems. The R400 counter-drone cannon is made by the Canberra-based remote weapons manufacturer Electro Optic Systems (EOS). The EOS’s website described the R400 as a “a high-precision weapon platform with the firepower of a 30 mm cannon” capable of supporting other weapons, such as machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and anti-tank guided missiles. 

Supply of the R400 is a clear violation of Australia’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty on weapons exports to Israel, but arms manufacturers circumvent the law by sending parts to the U.S. for assembly. As reported by ABC (Australia), “A defence industry source claims the Australian-made components were first sent to an EOS entity in the United States for assembly, before being shipped to Israel without an Australian export approval.”

It’s a sleight of hand used by other Australian companies as well.  According to Amnesty International, the Australian company Thales which manufactures 155mm artillery shells first exports them to its U.S. subsidiary which in turn sells them to Israel. 

Wong — ‘Making This Political’ 

When Minister Wong was asked about this practice by Shoebridge she again evaded the question and this time lapsed into an apoplectic meltdown (watch the clip to the end) accusing him of “making this a political issue.”

In the face of irrefutable evidence that Australian manufacturers are sending arms to Israel, Australia’s politicians remain steadfast in their denial.  “There is no Australian weaponry involved in what is going on in Gaza,” declared Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sky News. “That is just not the case.” 

Of course, the PM knows it’s a lie as does Minister Penny Wong, Defence Minister Richard Marles and the entire Australian defence establishment. 

But Australian officials believe they can get away with hoodwinking the public and violating international law by hiding behind accounting smokescreens. The Department of Defence (DEFAT), for instance, allows the sales to Israel of dual use items such as software, radios, chemicals and steel products that are used in IDF armoured vehicles.

Indeed, there are literally thousands of goods exported to Israel that fall under the dual-use category, many having lethal military uses, as revealed in a 90-page list of exports between Oct. 7, 2023, and March 29, 2025, released under the Freedom of Information Act to Declassified Australia.

The lack of transparency is breathtaking. While the Defence Department insists that no permits have been issued for arms sales to Israel, they also claim they have no control over the data which comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, the department can’t reveal specific details about export permits due to its “legal, commercial and privacy obligation.” 

Even more opaque is a 2017 memorandum of understanding signed by Australia and Israel on “defence industry cooperation” that the Defence Department refuses to release publicly.  A freedom of information request initiated by the Greens was rejected.

“It is outrageous that despite this incontrovertible evidence of Australian arms being sent to Israel and used by the Israeli military … the Albanese government and the Defence Department are holding fast to the falsehood that Australia has not sent any exports to Israel for the last five years,” says Rawan Arraf, executive director for the Australian Centre for International Justice. “These are obfuscations which have cost lives in Gaza.”

International Legal Warning 

On Jan. 26 last year, countries around the world were put on notice. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel is plausibly carrying out genocide in Gaza means that selling weapons to Israel could make them complicit in violating international law.

While the United States is by far the largest supplier of weapons to Israel, without which it could not continue the war on Gaza, countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the U.K. continue to play a critical role in the supply chain that fuels the Israeli war machine.

“A failure by states…to reassess how they are providing support to Israel provides grounds to question whether those states are violating the obligation to prevent genocide,” writes Michael Becker, a professor of international human rights law at Trinity College in Dublin.  “…at some point [they could] be considered complicit in acts of genocide or other violations of international law.

But even before the ICJ ruling, it was abundantly clear that Australia’s transfer of arms to Israel is in violation of a number of international laws including The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Arms Trade Treaty (mentioned earlier) and the UN Genocide Convention which prohibits not only the commission of genocide but also complicity in it.

Now, thanks to Palestinian support groups and human rights organisations these laws are being tested in courts around the world. 

Last year, both the Dutch and British courts ordered their governments to stop the export to Israel of parts for the F-35 fighter jet citing the clear risk that it was being use being used to commit war crimes in Gaza.

In Denmark, Amnesty International and other human rights organisation are appealing a decision by the Danish court to dismiss their suit against the country’s authorities for allowing the export of F-35 components.

And in a landmark case, Nicaragua has asked the International Court of Justice in the Hague to halt Germany’s military, political and financial support to Israel because Germany is in breach of the U.N. genocide convention.

Around the world, countries are waking up to the reality that their political leaders could realistically face charges in the International Court of Justice for their collusion in Israel’s war crimes.  But, despite the risks, Australia’s leaders remain wedded to the business of selling weapons and weapons parts to Israel.

Now it’s time to let them know, there is no going back from genocide. Those who played a role in allowing it to happen will be remembered for their complicity.  The stain will haunt the perpetrators and their supporters in perpetuity. That is as true for the countries that remained silent during the Holocaust in Europe as it is for those countries now complicit in the live stream genocide in Gaza today.  As much as the Australian political establishment attempts to hide the facts and deceive the public, they can not escape accountability.

In the words of late African-American poet June Jordan, “Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world.”

https://scheerpost.com/2025/05/20/nothing-to-see-here-australias-hidden-arms-trade-with-israel/

 

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         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.