John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to second the motion of my friend and colleague the member for Berowra on the appalling situation in North Korea. I echo his concern about the ongoing situation and the actions that threaten the region, our allies and even ourselves. The North Korean nuclear crisis has been simmering away for more than a decade now, with periodic flare-ups. As this isolated and paranoid state gets closer to its goal of nuclear weapons that can reach the US, these flare-ups have become more bellicose and of greater concern. We're currently seeing the latest and most concerning of these rising tensions. Both the US and North Korea have firm positions they need to maintain. The US cannot permit a rogue nation to have a missile that can reach its coast or threaten its allies. At the same time, the North will not feel it is safe until it has a nuclear deterrent, and it will do everything it has to until it reaches this goal. These inevitable tensions are considerably inflamed by the unyielding and strong words coming from the leaders of both nations.

While the nuclear program and the threats from both sides steal the news headlines, hidden behind the crisis is an ongoing North Korean humanitarian disaster. I have sincere concerns about the horrendous violations of human rights that are occurring. The widespread nature of these violations is as shocking as the incidents themselves. Living life in a Nineteen Eighty-Four simulation, with fear and rumour of the fates that have befallen your friends, is a concept too awful to contemplate; however, dwelling on the injustice and terror of this regime achieves few results. Thanks in part to the Australian government's work to bring firsthand reports of this to the Security Council, the entire world now knows the depravity of life in North Korea.

Bennelong has one of the largest Korean communities in the country. I know the recent developments are of significant concern to them and the family members they have back in Korea—both North and South. I spoke on this issue in 2015 and at the time I said I believed the constant negativity of this debate was further entrenching the situation there. As I said at that time, negativity can only enforce the status quo; positivity can aspire to change it. I have spoken with many Bennelong locals about this sad state and I would particularly like to thank Jason Koh, of the Korean Chamber of Commerce, and Agnes Shim, of the Sydney Korean Women's Association. They, with many others, are stalwarts of the local Korean community. Views across this community seem fairly united and very opposed to the rising tensions and words of aggression. Family reunions are a particular concern locally. Many in the South—and many in Bennelong—have cousins and family members across the border. Unfortunately, time is not on their side. Many people in my local community are 70 or over, but they still remember the days of an undivided Korea, before the border split their families. Reunions, when they are allowed by the North Koreans, see no more than 300 people connect with each other over a 24-hour period. Even for this paltry time, there are over 70,000 people on the waiting list. The current rate of reunions is unworkable, and many families will not have the chance to be reunited before it is too late.

I join the voices that call for the north to allow more of these reunions as a matter of urgency. All have informed me of the tentative hope they hold for the future of their cousins across the border. It is these people who are often forgotten by the geopolitical rhetoric and aggressive headlines, but we cannot afford to forget them. On behalf of the Korean community in my electorate of Bennelong, I would like to echo this motion's calls for North Korea to return to the negotiating table. I agree that China and anyone else who has any influence should do what they can to bring peace to this peninsula. One of my constituents once told me of the genuine determination of many in the north to stay the course they have set themselves and that, as such, threats don't work. But, as he went on to say, it is the soft rain that soaks in. We must do all we can to wind down these tensions, not for the reputations of these states but for the people who have to pay the price of this conflict.

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