Illawarra anti-war activists have described as a "technicality" defence industry minister Pat Conroy's assurances that Australia does not export weapons to Israel.
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Dozens of protesters from Wollongong Against War and Nukes (WAWAN) and Wollongong Friends of Palestine rallied on the lawn outside Shellharbour Civic Centre while Business Illawarra hosted the Illawarra Shoalhaven Defence Conference inside, calling for an end to arms exports from the Illawarra to conflict zones around the globe.
"We think that it's really important that wherever these people meet in the Illawarra, that they're met by community opposition, by people who say not in our name," WAWAN spokesperson Luke Hocking said.
Protesters have previously targeted the offices of Illawarra steelmaker Bisalloy, claiming that products from the Unanderra manufacturer are used in the production of armoured vehicles used by the Israel Defense Forces.
However, Mr Conroy said that Australia does not export weapons to Israel, and has not done so for years.
"We have not exported a single weapon to Israel, for the last five years."
Mr Hocking said this was a "technicality".
"There's been millions of dollars of exports of weapons components that are then built or completed in Israel," he said.
"When they use that statistic, I think it's intentional, they're trying to pull the wool over our eyes."
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures show that to November last year, arms and ammunition worth $13m were exported to Israel in the past five years.
The potential for nuclear submarines to be based in Port Kembla also drew the ire of protesters.
While the Labor government has walked back any decision on an east coast base for nuclear powered submarines acquired under the AUKUS act since being elected in 2022, Mr Hocking said the community needed a clearer statement of the government's intent.
"I think AUKUS should be ripped up in its entirety," he said. "It's an offensive strategy for the region to commit the Australian state to aiding American in its imperialist conflict with China, which I think is a complete travesty."
Mr Conroy said the government was in no rush to decide on an east coast base, saying the priority was preparing the Osborne shipyard in South Australia to build the submarines and for the Port of Hastings in WA to support the US and UK submarines prior to the launch of the Australian-flagged vessel.
"We've instituted our own process to identify where an east coast submarine base would be located," Mr Conroy said.
"We think there's a bit more time to decide where the east coast base is."
When pressed whether this meant a decision before 2030, Mr Conroy demurred.
"I'm not going to be drawn on the exact timing there," he said.
