Penny Wong’s hollow outrage will bring no justice for Zomi or Palestinians

Stop arming Israel with Australian explosives; Sanctions now!

Stop the War on Palestine is demanding the Albanese government stop arming Israel with Australian explosives and impose sanctions in wake of the Israel Defence Forces’ disgraceful declaration that it will not even bother to open an investigation into the murder of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

Stop the War on Palestine will protest the Australia and NZ shipping and logistics conference to tell the Albanese government, Thales Australia and shipping company CMA CGM to stop arming Zomi Frankcom’s killers and end explosives exports for Israel’s genocide.

The protest will take place at the opening dinner of the conference at 6pm Wednesday 26 August at the Sheraton Grand Sydney, opposite Hyde Park.

Stop the War on Palestine spokesperson Adam Adelpour says: “The Albanese government is arming Zomi’s killers with Australian explosives.”

“The Israel Defence Forces’ declaration that it will not even bother to open an investigation into the murder of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom is sickening but Israel’s ghoulish impunity has been granted to it by Penny Wong and the Albanese government. They have refused to take any meaningful action against Israel through almost 3 years of genocide and are refusing to do so now.” he continued.

Adelpour said: “Penny Wong’s ‘outrage’ and calling in the Israeli ambassador is nothing more than a self-serving performance. The Albanese government continues to arm the forces who murdered Zomi and over 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza and is unleashing a horrific wave of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.”

Australia is exporting explosives for genocide manufactured at the Commonwealth owned Mulwala explosives facility operated by Thales Australia. Commercially available US import data shows that between 11/11/2023 and 04/10/2025 alone Thales Australia has exported at least 191.5 tons of nitrocellulose explosives to General Dynamics OTS (GD OTS), the producer of 155mm artillery shells and propellants, tank ammunition, mortar and small arms rounds provided to Israel. 

Stop the War on Palestine unearthed this information following an article about the explosives exports published by Dave Milner from The Shot. From October 2024 onwards the explosives were transported from Australia to the US on a route and vessels operated by French shipping company CMA CGM.

St. Marks Powder, the listed buyer, is a subsidiary of GD OTS and makes ‘ball powder’ propellant used for 155mm artillery shells, tank ammunition, 120mm mortars and small arms rounds supplied to Israel via the US military. US government documents show huge transfers of these weapons.