Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to join the member for Calwell and to follow the member for Mallee on such an important issue in our parliament. I note the member for Lilley, the member for Gellibrand and the member for Newcastle will also be speaking on this important issue. We've heard the figures about the number of Rohingya refugees who have had to flee Myanmar over the course of the last 12 months. Following a brutal outbreak of violence in late August, the crisis, of course, has worsened—the crisis faced by the minority Rohingya Muslim community has escalated. We heard from the member for Mallee of his recent trip. I've spoken to the member for Gellibrand about what he saw on his trip. I too would join those members in commending the work of Save the Children in this crisis.

It was reported in late August that over 650,000 members of this community have taken refuge in Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh, after having been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine province. As others have noted, people don't flee in those numbers because they're economic refugees; they flee in those numbers because they are terrified for their lives. This has added to the extraordinary numbers of displaced people around the globe. On February 3 it was reported that five mass graves were found holding the bodies of Rohingya Muslims, and we know that in the future we will be looking back on this and standing in this place discussing the atrocities uncovered. The United Nations has described the situation as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, and what we need to do now is to be part of the solution, in terms of both diplomacy and aid, to support those people who have fled and to put pressure through diplomatic processes to ensure that these atrocities cease. In December, Doctors without Borders reported that at least 6,700 people had died in 2017, approximately 730 of whom were children younger than five years of age, and that these deaths were attributable to the attacks in Rakhine. Sitting in Australia, it is difficult to imagine the impact that kind of terror might have.

The provision of aid for the refugees is absolutely critical. We need to remind the Myanmar government of their duty and their duty of care towards these people. We need to be part of that diplomatic pressure, but we also need to be part of the solution. We need to ensure that these hundreds of thousands of people are getting the targeted support that they need in Bangladesh. We need to ensure that people have access to vaccinations, to education, to trauma counselling and, most importantly, to shelter and safety, in the first order.

We've heard again today about the monsoons coming, and about the work that will need to be done to ensure safety and shelter for those who are already there as well as to ensure that no more need flee. SBS News reported on 3 February that an estimated 80,000 tents in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh will have to be repositioned due to the upcoming monsoon season. This is a current issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Like others in this place, I am proud that Australia is part of that solution, with the $31 million that we have contributed to assist in this crisis.

It is difficult to be in Australia and to think about the pressures that those people are under. It certainly gives us a clear focus on the issues facing us globally. It gives us cause to think about the contributions that we as a country can make to assist the millions of displaced people across the globe at this point in time. But, as the member for Calwell noted, this one matters to a population, particularly in Victoria, of those who are already here. Their hearts break, and we need to give them the support that they need as well as ensure that we are giving support to those who are doing the work on the ground supporting these people.

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