Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the strong multi-party commitment in Australia to see an end to the death penalty worldwide;

(b) that 10 October was World Day Against the Death Penalty, an important moment to mark our resolve to end capital punishment around the world;

(c) that the evidence overwhelmingly shows that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime;

(d) that the death penalty is the ultimate cruel and inhumane punishment and Australia opposes its use in all cases;

(e) that the international trend shows the world is moving away from the death penalty—in 1977 only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty, now 140 nations have abolished capital punishment in law or practice;

(f) that despite this overwhelming trend, 2015 saw more people executed than in any year in the past quarter century, with executions carried out by several of Australia's neighbours and allies; and

(g) that Australia has the opportunity to influence progress towards the worldwide abolition of the death penalty in its relationships with key regional and global partners;

(2) welcomes the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade inquiry into Australia's Advocacy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty: A world without the death penalty (May 2016), and looks forward to the Government's response to its recommendations; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) continue to strengthen its efforts to advocate for an end to the death penalty wherever it still occurs;

(b) support civil society efforts to advocate for an end to the death penalty, particularly in retentionist countries; and

(c) encourage other United Nations member states to support a global moratorium on the death penalty at upcoming United Nations General Assembly negotiations on a moratorium resolution.

'There is no place for the death penalty in the modern world. State execution is a barbaric act that demeans the state that carries it out. An eye for an eye leaves the world blind.' These were the opening words used by the former member for Berowra Philip Ruddock in his foreword to the parliamentary committee report into Australia's advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty, tabled in the last days of the 44th Parliament. It is appropriate that this new parliament commences with a recognition that Australia remains steadfast in its opposition to the death penalty for all crimes, in all nations, and that that cause enjoys bipartisan support.

Last week, many of us joined together to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty. I acknowledge the work of Amnesty International in bringing us together to reflect on the world's progress but also the challenges that lie ahead. International efforts to end the use of the death penalty have overall been incredibly successful. As this resolution notes, 40 years ago only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty. Today, capital punishment has been abolished in law or practice in 140 nations. Last year, four more nations joined the list of those abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.

Yet, like many things, progress has been marked by two steps forward and one step back. On the other side of the ledger, 2015 was a year in which over 1,600 people were executed in 25 countries. This represents a 50 per cent increase over the number of executions undertaken in 2014. These figures do not include the many hundreds, if not thousands, of executions that are believed to have been conducted in China but gone unreported. Nor do the figures include extrajudicial killings such as those that appear to be occurring with state sanction in the Philippines today. And around the world over 20,000 people remain on death row, many of them destined to die by lethal injection, beheading, flogging or firing squad.

My opposition to the death penalty is fundamentally born from the liberal values that have shaped my involvement in politics. It is axiomatic that any person who believes in the innate value of every individual should hold dear, at the apex of human rights, the value of life itself. In opposing the death penalty we recognise that to strip the dignity of one person by the hands of the law is to strip every person of that dignity. This alone is enough for me to oppose the death penalty.

It has been almost 50 years since Ronald Ryan became the last man to be executed in Australia. In abolishing capital punishment, our nation understood that violence does not remedy violence. Yet there are more temporal reasons to judge capital punishment unworthy of any nation's legal system. By its nature, it excludes the possibility of redemption and rehabilitation. It has often taken the lives of those who were subsequently found to be innocent. It often involves incredible cruelty and has no proven value as a deterrent.

In many countries people are killed following judicial processes that are clearly wanting. Often these deaths are the result of crimes that by any measure do not warrant the forfeiture of life itself. In some cases minors—just teenagers—and those with mental illness are executed. In 2004, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in the United States for setting a fire that led to the death of his three young daughters. Further evidence showed he was innocent. In 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz was sentenced to lethal injection. It took 34 minutes and two doses to kill the man. In Iran, hangings are often public, with children and the general public as onlookers, with some aged as young as 15 sitting on death row.

The right to life is founded on universal values not insulated to our shores. We have an obligation as parliamentarians to support an end to the death penalty wherever it is used. In a time of international cooperation and global policing arrangements, Australia must be steadfast in its principles and act as a leader to end the death penalty worldwide. I am pleased that this is an issue that has been a priority for Australian governments of all persuasions for many years. We were a co-sponsor of the UN General Assembly's moratorium on the death penalty, which was successfully adopted in 2014.

In the months and days before two Australians were executed by an Indonesian firing squad in April 2015, our community was united in pleading and praying for mercy for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. We stood as a country, knowing that violence does not end violence; knowing that the value of life trumps all; knowing that our civilisation values rehabilitation and justice, not retribution. We understand that the strength of our society comes not from our capacity to harm but from our courage to recognise the value of human life, even for those who have undertaken evil crimes. I commend the motion to the House.

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