Nat Barr confronts Anthony Albanese - as Penny Wong is accused of the 'most reckless' diplomatic act in decades

Natalie Barr has confronted Anthony Albanese over a speech by his Foreign Minister Penny Wong that has been labelled by the opposition as the 'most reckless' diplomatic act by an Australian government in decades.

In a speech at the Australian National University on Tuesday, Senator Wong said recognising a Palestinian state was the only way to break the cycle of violent reprisals and bring peace to both Palestinians and Israelis. 

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton quickly joined Jewish leaders in slamming Ms Wong's comments as 'utterly illogical, ill-timed and inappropriate', instead wanting Australia to maintain a pro-Israel stance on the endless conflict.

Mr Dutton said the push for a two-state solution was the most 'reckless act of a foreign minister I have seen in my 22 years in the parliament'. 

During an appearance on Seven's Sunrise show, host Natalie Barr confronted Mr Albanese about Wong's comments.

 'Peter Dutton says this is the most reckless act of a Foreign Minister in 20 years, Jewish groups are furious. They say we have got a war. This will reward Hamas. Was it ill timed, these statements?' 

'Well, this is just more nasty negativity from Peter Dutton,' Mr Albanese replied. 

'The entire world knows that there needs to be a two-state solution In the Middle East.

'That's something that's been Australia's longstanding policy and it's something I have been very consistent on for a long period of time. 

'But Hamas can play no role in a future state. We have made that very clear as well. As has the rest of the western world.'

Today Show host Karl Stefanovic equally pressured the Prime Minister on Thursday, asking if he planned to recognise Palestinian statehood. 

Mr Albanese stopped short of answering the question, instead insisting his government supported 'the right of Israel to exist within secure borders, without being threatened by organisations like Hamas that are committed to the destruction of Israel.

'It (Hamas) has no role to play in the Middle East, but we need justice for Palestinians,' he said. 

Stefanovic made a trite comparison, saying trying to separate Hamas from the  Palestinian state was like 'separating the milk and the dark chocolate in the Cadbury Top Deck'. 

'It's just about impossible, isn't it?' he asked. 

Mr Albanese hit back, telling the host: 'That's not right'.  

'When you look at the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is not run by Hamas. And we need to make sure that Hamas has no role,' he said,

'What we need to do though, is to make sure that Palestinians can have hope of a secure future as well. We've seen generations consigned to conditions that are completely unacceptable, and that's been a source of tension. 

'And what we need to do is to look beyond what happens post the current conflict. And a two-state solution is something that does need to be advanced. As the United States, the United Kingdom and all of our like-minded countries have said.'

In her address at a National Security College conference, Ms Wong said there was 'widespread frustration' at the lack of progress towards forming a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza. 

'So the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution,' she said. 

'There is no role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state. Hamas is a terrorist organisation which has the explicit intent of the destruction of the state of Israel and the Jewish people,' she said. 

The foreign minister instead said a reformed Palestinian Authority should be the government. 

But her comments attracted fury from the Opposition leader, who accused the Albanese government of having a 'clear prejudice' against Israel. 

'For a crass domestic political win, Penny Wong has irreparably damaged our relations with our ally Israel,' Mr Dutton said.

'It is the most reckless act of a foreign minister I have seen in my 22 years in the parliament – and it has weakened our international standing.'