A secretive memorandum of understanding between the Victorian government and the Israeli defence force will not be renewed.
Guardian Australia has confirmed the MoU between the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions and the international defence cooperation directorate of the Israel defence ministry, which was signed on 7 December 2022, will lapse when it expires next month.
“The purpose of the MoU was to identify potential opportunities for collaboration on projects that could deliver significant advanced manufacturing capabilities, highly skilled jobs and economic benefits for Victoria,” a government spokesperson said.
“Since it was signed, no joint projects were entered into under the MoU and it will not be renewed.”
The MoU was signed before the Israel-Gaza war but has come under increased scrutiny since the conflict began.
The Greens have repeatedly used question time to grill the government on its contents and behind the scenes, Labor MPs have been urging the premier, Jacinta Allan, not to renew it.
The same MPs were rankled last week when Allan criticised pro-Palestinian protesters for planning a demonstration outside Myer’s Christmas windows. She said the demonstration would not help bring an end to the conflict but instead sought to divide Victorians.
The full text of the MoU has not been made public but documents from the Victorian government, released under freedom of information laws, show its purpose was to foster trade relations and “support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives”.
Talking points for the event said it was important to form strong “defence alliances and industry cooperation” between governments that “share the same interests”. They specifically referenced “global tensions”, including the war in Ukraine and “increasingly militarised territorial disputes” in the Indo-Pacific.
However, the government has stressed it was “not supplying arms or weapons to Israel” and the MoU was not legally binding.
The decision to let it expire comes after the federal government has also amended or lapsed at least 16 defence-related export permits to Israel in recent weeks, amid a review of all 66 permits approved prior to the conflict.
The full review is expected to conclude in the coming months.
Almost 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began 13 months ago, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The war is in response to the 7 October attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.
