Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion that has been put before the House by the member for Fremantle. I thank her for her ongoing commitment to this issue and, in particular, for putting this motion here today so that we can all join with her.

At the onset, and by way of clarification, the Australian government is very concerned and is watching developments in Burma very closely. I would also like to thank the member for amending her motion to make use of the word 'Burma' as a term that now appears in Australian formal government communications. The Burmese embassy was advised about these changes on 8 November. Australia is a major donor and is increasing our development assistance, which is very important, to $90 million in 2014-15.

I had the privilege of visiting Burma two years ago and saw some of the reform processes being undertaken. Australia is committed to helping Burma through the next stages of its development. I met a number of government agencies, including the UNDP, to see how the economic, political, financial and health reforms are going to take place. Burma is at a crossroads in its development. Sadly, all the goodwill in the world can exist but if we do not solve the issues and stop the violence in Rakhine state the rest of the world will be watching very closely.

There is an opportunity here for the country to move forward. The Abbott government hopes that any constitutional amendments will provide for a strong and inclusive democratic system in Burma, but ultimately what happens in the future is a matter for the Burmese people. Burma's government has made notable progress in improving its human rights record since 2011, but there is so much more to do. The challenges remain: we see the hostilities, the tensions and the violence, particularly involving ethnic minority groups in Rakhine state. It would be great to see independence of the judiciary. There are ongoing allegations of abuse by the military, including the use of torture, and the land grabbing must be reformed. They cannot continue to exist.

Violence between the Rakhine Buddhists and the Muslim Rohingyas in 2012 left 140,000 internally displaced people, most of them Rohingyas. I have seen many of them in camps. The situation remains bleak. From 26 to 27 March, violence targeting UN officers and international NGOs resulted in the destruction of property and the relocation of aid workers, including Australians. Improvements have included the release of more than 1,100 political prisoners, the establishment of a national human rights commission and greater freedom of the press. Australia has raised our concerns about the situation for the Rohingyas, and about human rights more generally, directly with the Burmese government. It was great to see my parliamentary colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Julie Bishop, issue a media release expressing concerns about the humanitarian situation in Rakhine state and the targeting of UN and NGO officers. Immigration Minister Morrison also raised Australia's concerns during his visit to Burma between 6 and 9 February this year. In her most recent visit to Burma, from 2 to 9 July, Minister Bishop again raised these human rights issues in meetings with leaders of the country. Minister Bishop met with representatives of the Rohingya and Rakhine communities during this visit.

Australia is very, very concerned about what is happening in Rakhine state. The Australian government continues to assist affected people in Rakhine state through direct humanitarian assistance and has provided $10.7 million since the violence in the 2012. This makes Australia one of the largest humanitarian aid donors to Rakhine state. Our support is provided on the basis of need and does not discriminate between ethnic groups. It also extends to providing an additional $12 million to support the broader peace process in Burma. Peace is absolutely essential for the country to achieve long-term stability and economic growth. Again, I thank the member for Fremantle for allowing us to join in a bipartisan way today on this motion.

See this speech in context