Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

May I first take the opportunity to thank my good colleague the member for McMillan for bringing this motion to the House and for the opportunity to speak to it. His concern for humanitarian work, both domestically and internationally, is well known and respected in this place and beyond. In his opening remarks he gave some very sobering statistics on the impact of war, particularly on children, and it is indeed sobering to reflect on that.

It is a matter of record that an immense tragedy has been unfolding in the Darfur region since 2003. As the member for Melbourne Ports has just indicated, this is a civil conflict, largely driven by a government against its own people. They put a British king, Charles I, to death for waging war on his own people. It is a pretty terrible situation when you have to kill thousands of your own to make some kind of political statement. This conflict has taken a terrible toll on human life and it has caused untold misery to thousands of citizens of Darfur. The conflict began in Sudan’s western region but has now spread to Chad and will undoubtedly lead to continuing conflict on a wider front. It has been estimated that between 200,000 and 400,000 people have died from war, malnutrition and disease. This makes the delivery of aid perhaps more crucial and critical than it otherwise would be. Three million people have been displaced and four million are now entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance.

This conflict has been said to be the site of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster—and that is really saying something, because we have seen some appalling tragedies unfold, in this last decade in particular. Any escalation in the conflict will make it increasingly difficult to support the vast number of people so desperately needing humanitarian care. It will also increase the risk to those courageous and generous people endeavouring to deliver the aid. My colleague the member for McMillan has pointed out the incredible risk to the convoys of trucks taking aid into the region. There have been increasing attacks on humanitarian aid workers and there have been many abductions. This has understandably led to agencies winding down the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Most of the 20,000 peacekeepers who form the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur force have been pledged by African states. The United Nations has expressed concern at the lack of key military capability, particularly air assets, to deliver aid and medical supplies. If peace is to be restored in Darfur and if there is to be an easing of human suffering and misery, Darfur will need a much more rigorous peacekeeping operation than currently exists. It will require skilled, high-level intervention to negotiate a political settlement between the various militia groups that is lasting. We know that our Australian peacekeepers have the skills, and they have already made a significant contribution to resolving conflicts in many parts of the globe. We are proud of those efforts.

While the Australian government has made a significant contribution of $20 million and limited personnel to the peacekeeping operation in Darfur, there has not been a commitment to provide the much-needed air support and additional personnel. Somebody once told me, ‘If it has got to be, it has got to be me.’ I think that if we want to see peace restored in the region—and it is in everyone’s interest that that happens—we need to consider providing more peacekeeping support. A recent report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute concluded that, while the Australian Defence Force is busy, it is not overstretched. Given the real risk of escalating violence, further destabilisation in the region and the level of human suffering, it would be a positive move for the Australian government to consider the request, for air support in particular. This would be a commitment that I am pretty sure that everyone here would welcome.

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