Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

This generation of Australians has benefited in a way that previous generations have not in being able to see the world. We have been able to travel a lot more, we have been able to immerse ourselves in the way others live and we have seen the world brought closer together through the benefits of modern communication. I think it is safe to say that, more often than not, when Australians return home from overseas the first thing they think of when they see Australian shores from the comfort of an airplane seat is: 'How good is it to be home!' One of our first thoughts is to think about how great Australia is—and, as much as we have enjoyed our time abroad, we also respect the fact that we are coming back to a country that has been so good to us. In acknowledging that, in the context of the incredible events that have occurred beyond our shores, it is important to recognise that, as much as we are grateful for what this country gives us, we cannot be complacent. This is not a gift that fell into our laps by virtue of luck and good fortune. We all have a responsibility to maintain it, not just for ourselves but for the people that follow us. The peace and stability of this country is very much dependent on our own actions.

It is also right that Australians do not enjoy this stability and peace and then feel that they have no responsibility when others are themselves unable to take advantage of this. By that I mean that, when we see suffering beyond our shores, when something is not right, when the scales of justice and fairness are tipped the wrong way, we as a nation must be prepared to stand up and say that we will act as a nation, with others, to ensure that people are not placed in harm's way. Certainly we abhor unnecessary violence and have been rightly sickened by the scenes that have emerged out of northern Iraq and Syria. We have said that this is simply unacceptable in any day and age and for any people. What we have seen has been horrific. The actions of Islamic State are to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We cannot sit back and let these actions—the barbarism, the inflicting of genocide—continue without response. Ultimately, this is about imposing tyranny, pure and simple.

Within northern Iraq we are seeing a group of people abusing religion in their effort to impose tyranny—blackening the name of religion and faith to impose their view. Basically, they would have a system of governing that would exclude everyone, other than those who have access to a gun or some of the horrific other things we have seen inflicted on others.

Nations like ours, built on our values of inclusion, of acceptance and, fundamentally, of democracy—the greatest of the Western democratic traditions are within our nation—cannot abide what we are seeing, and nor should we. Those extremists, when they look to us and see the coexistence that has been achieved within a nation like Australia—and in most Western democracies—cannot stand what they are seeing. They do not want to see coexistence. They want to be able to continue to find enemies that they can persecute. They do not want to be able to see the success that we have been able to achieve in our nation, where regardless of your faith and background you can participate in the democratic channels of this nation, and not only have a say but build something better.

Our vision of coexistence is in contest with a horrific vision. We cannot simply sit and believe that by ignoring what is going on it will go away. Hence we have seen the actions of a number of nations. We have seen the leadership that has been demonstrated by the Prime Minister and the Australian government, in tandem with other nations, particularly the US, that have been horrified at what has happened, and we have said that we will not allow this to continue.

As I said, we cannot be complacent. We wish for peace and prosperity and stability for ourselves, as much as we wish it for others. That is why the humanitarian effort that has been undertaken, as I described it the other day, has been timely. We could not sit on our hands and see what is occurring be inflicted on others. We cannot let continue the horrific loss of life, the abuse of people's human rights, the mistreatment of women the things that we have seen on social media—the strength of our unity in this has been critical.

As a nation we have put aside politics. Regardless of our views of the world, we have worked as one, not only to speak up on this but to act. In relation to the humanitarian effort that has been undertaken and the type of work that has been done so far that has been critical. The call for help by the Iraqi government has also been critical. They need help; we can provide it. We must do it and we have.

We have also, it is important to say, watched in horror what has happened in Syria. The inability of the international community to deal comprehensively with the genocide that has occurred within those borders has caused a lot of people concern.

Certainly I would make the point—and this is not something I have come up with; others have observed it as well—that these theatres of conflict are being used actively as recruitment platforms by extremists who have sought to distort what is happening there to bring people within their fold to then swell their ranks of extremism and perpetuate it elsewhere. We cannot allow that to occur. As much as we are acting on Iraq, I think it is also important that we as an international community recognise that the deterioration of the situation in Syria cannot continue and that we have to be able to find a way for peace there.

As much as I have reflected in my initial comments in the chamber on what has happened beyond our borders, it is also important to reflect on what is happening within our borders. When the Director-General of ASIO, David Irvine, speaks, I think it is important that we listen. The Director-General is right: there is an issue here. There are people who are being seduced by extremism, who are being radicalised and being tempted to go and act on this extremism elsewhere. And there is a rightful concern that once they have undertaken horrific acts beyond our borders, what happens on their return? Again, we need to act as one.

I am heartened by the words of both the Prime Minister and the opposition leader that what we are fighting here is extremism. We are not fighting faith; we are fighting extremism. And while we may have differences of opinion on approach—on how we do it—I certainly say, from this vantage point of having the honour of representing people in this parliament, that this is not the path to travel down. Extremism is not going to provide the solution or the answers or help anyone. Extremism is more a recipe for further violence and will split people further apart at a time when we need to bring people together. The worst thing you can do is force people into corners where they refuse to engage, refuse to act and refuse to build on that spirit of coexistence I reflected on earlier in my remarks. So, we do need to act.

Again, we might have differences of opinion on how things are done, but, regardless of your politics, if the Prime Minister of this country asks to sit down to sort out these problems that confront the community, then I urge people to sit down and to talk and to respect the fact that the office of Prime Minister has reached out and is seeking a way to bring people together, to fight something that is a common threat to us all: extremism. So, I certainly hope, modestly, that people will take onboard these words and be able to accept that invitation to work together for the common good of this nation.

I seek leave to continue these comments.

Leave granted.

Thank you. We cannot have a situation in which we have continued division in some communities that believe faith is being singled out in trying to deal with the threat of extremism. This is simply not the case. People of goodwill and from all different backgrounds want to work to deal with this issue, and we do need to deal with it. The front page of the Australian detailed a very moving story, I thought, of a father who felt shamed by the actions of his son who was taking up an extremist path and going to do terrible things in Syria. This father is a person who found, as most migrants do, what Australia has provided for them—opportunity and an ability to look at your children with pride and say, 'You're going to have a better life than I had, and you're going to have a better life than we would have had if I had stayed home.' As I often say, migrants and the children of migrants feel an enormous debt of gratitude to this nation—that we have been given an opportunity, not just in a material sense, but to not live with the fear of persecution, to not live with the fear of conflict, to not live with the fear that we cannot be the best we can be because we are not extended the types of privileges that are granted by a democratic nation like this.

If we accept that there is a debt of gratitude that must be repaid in this nation then we cannot sit back and think that it is someone else's job to fulfil that debt. We all have a part to play. So beyond urging people not to take up the path of extremism, let us also identify that extremism and deal with it. We should not just wait for the government to hand out money to deal with this, as much as I welcome the commitment that has been made by the Prime Minister on this front. Money will not solve this problem. What is in our hearts and minds will—to be able to recognise that, even though we have these disputes across the table here, I would never want to see anything happen to anyone across that side of the table as a result of violence, as much as you would not want it on this side. We can be joined in this national endeavour to build a stronger country by weeding out this extremism, dealing with it head-on and ensuring that we can continue to repay that debt of gratitude in the way that we all seek and that we think is the right thing to do for this country.

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