Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In congratulating the member for Ryan in initiating this motion, I do so not from the perspective of the normal niceties that are renowned in these debates but out of a genuine appreciation of her efforts. They are characterised not only by this particular instance but by her leadership within the Amnesty International Group and broader human rights issues in other nations. I do congratulate her. I recognise the efforts of Australia's public servants in pushing home this issue on behalf of the Greste family and on behalf of the Australian people in their concern about Peter Greste and his current predicament.

This matter has dragged on since December. Abdullah Al-Shamy, one of the other people detained from Al Jazeera, has been involved for a very long time in a hunger strike. I understand that that has finished in recent days and I am very glad.

We have heard other speakers enunciate the role of this journalist, Peter Greste, around the world in so many difficult areas during conflict and in areas where human rights are suppressed. We know that he has received international awards, which indicate his professionalism. He has been employed by a significant number of first-rate international media outlets. The joint statement of the editors of the BBC, Reuters, ITN, Sky, NBC and ABC News—which can probably agree on very little else, of 21 February this year, noted:

… Peter Greste to be a fine, upstanding correspondent who has proved his impartiality over many years …

He writes—

that is, Peter, that when the Muslim Brotherhood was listed as a terrorist:

… "it knocked the middle ground out of the discourse. When the other side, political or otherwise, is a 'terrorist', there is no neutral way… So, even talking to them becomes an act of treason, let alone broadcasting their news, however benign."

That was a predicament that he was in, as a professional journalist, in trying to convey to the rest of the world an understanding of what was occurring in Egypt.

I, along with the member for Berowra, have had the opportunity to attend many rallies in Sydney around concerns about the suppression of rights during the hegemony of the Morsi Muslim Brotherhood regime. We naively thought that we would never be involved in resolutions such as this, if they were to be replaced. But that is not the case. Obviously, there are also significant measures in the constitution of Egypt which would lead one to expect that these resolutions would not be necessary. Article 70 of the constitution affirms:

… freedom of the press, printing and paper, visual, audio and electronic publication is guaranteed.

Furthermore, article 71 notes:

It is prohibited to censor, confiscate, suspend or shut down Egyptian newspapers and media outlets in any way …

And further:

… no freedom-restricting penalty shall be imposed for publication or publicity crimes.

Given our belief that this Australian journalist has displayed commendable neutrality and impartiality and that his career has indicated that, it is of concern that he would face a sentence in this case of 15 to 25 years. This presents an unfortunate view to the world about what is prevailing in that country. It has been noted by the shadow foreign minister that Neil Davis was an inspiration to him. We know that he typifies the problems confronted by journalists; ironically, if he was in Thailand today Davis might be facing the same situation.

I very much want to join with the other members of parliament who see the need for the world to recognise that there are proper judicial practices and people are given a fair trial. It was disturbing that at an early stage Mr Greste was given no writing materials and no visits from his family. Clearly, the world needs journalists out there to interact with different forces within any regime, to understand what is going on and appreciate the full nuances of problems and understand the culture. I am pleased to be part of this significant cross-parliamentary reaction in calling for his release.

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