Bob Carr accused of betraying PM Gillard over Palestine vote

A SENIOR Labor MP has accused Foreign Minister Bob Carr of betraying the Prime Minister by masterminding a numbers campaign behind her back to force a change of policy on Australia's support for Palestinian statehood.

Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence chair Michael Danby slammed Mr Carr for "unforgivable" and "unacceptable" behaviour as a minister.

Mr Danby revealed Mr Carr had been "phoning around" after a cabinet meeting two weeks ago to lobby against Julia Gillard's decision to cast a no-vote on a UN resolution for greater Palestinian recognition.

Ms Gillard's position was consistent with Australia's long history of support for Israel. However, in a critical test of her leadership, right-wing MPs including Mr Carr refused to back her.

In an unprecedented attack on a minister by a backbench colleague, Mr Danby, a staunch pro-Israeli supporter, claimed Mr Carr deliberately undermined Ms Gillard and threatened to break cabinet solidarity, in a move which ultimately forced Ms Gillard to change her position and announce Australia would abstain from the UN vote.

In a claim that will send shockwaves through caucus, Mr Danby - while stopping short of calling for his resignation - accused Mr Carr of an act of "unforgivable" disloyalty to Ms Gillard.In an exclusive column for The Daily Telegraph today, the Victorian Labor MP accused Mr Carr and his colleagues in the NSW Labor right of abandoning their "beliefs" and betraying Ms Gillard because of a misguided fear of a voter backlash among the growing Middle Eastern communities in western Sydney.

"Phoning around, then speaking on the matter (after you've promised not to) and ultimately threatening to speak against the Prime Minister are all unforgivable behaviour for a minister," he writes.

He said voters in NSW would be more inclined to vote against Labor because of the stench of corruption, rather than a Middle Eastern foreign policy issue.

Mr Carr - a strident public advocate for more recognition for Palestinians - has denied being part of a numbers campaign to force Ms Gillard to change her mind.

In response to Mr Danby's claims, a spokesman for Mr Carr last night said: "The Prime Minister made a decision on this issue, backed by a decisive majority of both cabinet and caucus. It's time for all parties, including Mr Danby, to respect that decision and move on."

The spokesman added that Mr Carr "did not make the comments attributed to him (in Mr Danby's column) ... and did not threaten to speak against the PM".