Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Sidebottom, I commend you today on your second maiden speech in the House, and I hope it is the last time we have to hear one of those! I am pleased to speak to the motion put before the House by the member for McMillan, and I commend him on the initiative. Sudan is a country that knows severe famine, disease, environmental crisis and war. As we have already heard in such graphic detail from the previous speakers, the country is experiencing rapid and unsustainable population growth, which is further straining already depleted resources.

Along with the other reasons mentioned by the previous speakers, the effects of climate change and overpopulation have pushed the country to the brink and led to the conflict that has crippled Darfur. There is no doubt that the civil war has impacted on millions of lives. I have seen the results of this in the suburb where I live, where there is a significant refugee population from Sudan.

Concentrated in the western region of Sudan, the war is predominantly an ethnic and tribal struggle for useful pastoral land and scarce natural resources—land and resources that are being impacted on by climate change. On one side you have the Sudanese military and a militia group known as the Janjaweed, which, I think, literally means ‘devils on horseback’. On the other side are rebel groups like the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. As a result of the civil war, many hundreds of thousands have been killed. Millions of families have been forced from their homes and scattered all over the world and all over Africa. It is one of those occasions in history where humanity must stand up for humanity.

The plight of the people of Darfur is neither forgotten nor ignored by Australia. Australia has strongly supported the actions taken by the UN Security Council to address the conflict. Through resolution 1591, the Australian government helped to ensure that the UN Security Council strengthened binding restrictions on the supply of arms to Darfur, demanded the government of Sudan cease offensive military flights over Darfur and imposed travel bans and asset freezes on individuals who oppose peace.

Australia continues to urge all parties to the conflict in Darfur to facilitate the deployment of the United Nations African Union Mission and work towards a comprehensive peace settlement. We are directing funds towards alleviating the humanitarian crisis. Australia has provided more than $71 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan since May 2004, including $57 million for Darfur and $13 million for southern Sudan. A further $11 million has been provided to help neighbouring countries deal with many of the spillover effects. I commend the initiative put forward by the member for Melbourne Ports to process visa applications outside the region. These financial contributions have funded water and sanitation projects, mine clearance and road maintenance, food aid, logistics and communications. Australia has also provided 15 Australian Defence Force personnel and 10 Federal Police.

Australia has also opened its doors to more than 23,000 Sudanese refugees who have resettled in Australia since 2001. As I said, many hundreds of them now call the suburbs in my electorate of Moreton—such as Moorooka, Annerley, Yeronga and Salisbury—home. I have heard firsthand from many residents in my electorate of the crisis that is facing humanity and the individual struggles to survive in Darfur. That is why I was particularly disgusted with the remarks of the former Minister for Immigration and Citizenship late last year slandering these Sudanese refugees. He made an accusation that Sudanese people are not integrating into the Australian way of life. That is certainly not my experience in Moreton at all. These kinds of divisive statements are unhelpful. Instead, as the member for McMillan, who moved this motion, said, we should be directing our attention towards lasting peace and humanitarian aid in Sudan.

The biggest diaspora in my electorate is not the Sudanese community; it is actually the Chinese community. As China is a major trading partner with Sudan, we would all recognise that China must step up to its responsibility to aid the war-torn country. I have been informed that China is already engaged in some diplomatic efforts and providing aid to Darfur. The Chinese President met the Sudanese President twice in 2007 and appointed a special envoy to attempt to ameliorate the dreadful circumstances in Sudan. China has taken an active part but more can be done to help with practical humanitarian aid. All countries must step up to help relieve human suffering in the Darfur region.

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