Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise not only to support the motion but also to second it. I am delighted to do so. I thank the member for Fremantle for her consultation about the form which it might take and I commend her from bringing it forward. Australia, and I have said this frequently, is an example to the rest of the world, where people of different faiths, different religions, different cultures and different races can function effectively as a community—committed Australians. I am very proud of what we are able to achieve and I say to other people in other parts of the world: they should look to Australia as an example, because it is possible.

I thought at the time when Burma was able to change fundamentally from a military dictatorship that we would see a change for all of the people of Burma through democratisation. When we were welcoming Aung San Suu Kyi to Australia, as somebody who has fought for it, I saw that as an ideal opportunity. I said that to her in the context of the issue we are speaking about here today. This is a very special time for Burma to be able to demonstrate that you can bring about political change and it is change that is for the benefit of all the people of the nation.

It is in that context that I think we need to understand that the Rohingya are indigenous to Myanmar, Burma. They are today denied the right to be who they are. They have existed there for over 1,000 years. They have always identified themselves as Rohingya and I believe they will always do so, yet their identity is being destroyed. A recent census had questions that excluded people identifying as Rohingya. Anybody who wrote this down was not even going to be counted. There has been displacement and violence. The citizenship law that formalised the exclusion of their nationality restricts movement, marriage and now religious conversion. Rohingya have a ban on having more than two children, on land rights and on education. They are treated as illegal. On top of that there are restrictions, as the member for Fremantle noted, on humanitarian groups being able to have offices in Burma, Myanmar, for them. These people have been left to either leave or fend for themselves.

I have met with delegations. I have spoken about this issue; I addressed a conference at the University of Western Sydney on this matter. I have met with the president of the local group of the Rohingya, Dr Myint. I know that they all are very concerned. They do not wish to be seen as Bangladeshis. They do not want to identify as another nationality. They want to remain in their homeland. They want to remain as Rohingya. They want freedom.

I am pleased that our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, who recently visited Burma, had discussions with President Thein Sein, with members of the government and with human rights advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. She met with representatives of both the Rohingya and Rakhine communities during her visit. I am informed that she raised directly the human rights issues with the government during this time. She has informed me that the government is very concerned about this issue. I think that is as it should be.

We have been providing aid to assist with humanitarian needs in the Rakhine state. The government will continue to do so. I am told that in 2014-15 we will increase development assistance in Burma to an estimated $90 million. I join with the member for Fremantle in calling for the government to commit itself to a reform process, to allow humanitarian assistance and protection, to give people the ability to enter the areas of Rakhine and set up offices and to allow the UNHCR to be there. I join with her in calling for fair trials for all those people held in prison and to abandon harsh laws and further laws on restricting religion, land rights and like matters. I think the citizenship act has to be amended. I urge the government to take positive and necessary measures to prevent further violence. I call upon the government to provide its own humanitarian assistance and to return internally displaced people to their own homes.

This is an important time for the future of this nation. How they deal with this issue will determine the way in which the country will be seen. I commend the member for Fremantle for giving us all an opportunity to speak about this matter in a bipartisan way as we seek to protect the rights of individuals.

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