Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking the member for Calwell for bringing this motion on the Rakhine State in Myanmar before the House of Representatives. From many of the contributions you can tell the depth of concern that is rightly being reflected in the House today, and I think it's very fitting that on our first day back in parliament we're debating this topic. And I'd like to frame my comments today around a visit I made last November to Cox's Bazar, where I accompanied the CEO of Oxfam, Dr Helen Szoke, and the CEO of CARE Australia, Sally Moyle, and their respective teams in order to try to understand firsthand the situation facing Rohingya refugees fleeing the north Rakhine State across to Bangladesh.

Whilst intellectually I thought I was prepared for that visit and had done my reading and talked to as many people as I could, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the sight of Cox's Bazar. To describe this as the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis simply as a matter of fact does little to really portray the situation in Bangladesh right now, and I would like upfront to send the most sincere thanks to the Bangladeshi government, who have, notwithstanding the very poor nature of their country and the struggles of their own people, displayed the most extraordinarily generous spirit in providing a safe haven for Rohingya people fleeing persecution and violence from the north of Rakhine State.

I had the real pleasure of meeting with many women parliamentarians whilst I was in Bangladesh. I was able to send my personal thanks for their generosity. At a time when many member states in the world are pulling up the drawbridges of their communities and closing their borders, this has not been the approach of the Bangladeshi government. As I said, notwithstanding the fact that they have their own deep challenges when it comes to looking after their own citizens, they have never blinked or even contemplated the possibility of not providing safe haven and assistance for the Rohingya refugees.

We owe the Bangladeshi government enormous thanks and enormous gratitude. Every ounce of support is needed that the Australian government can provide to the Bangladeshi government and to the humanitarian actors who are, thankfully, in Cox's Bazaar in large numbers to ensure that there is some emergency aid being delivered to the men, women and children in those camps. The role they play is so essential. Like my colleagues before me, I absolutely encourage Australians to donate, to contribute in any way they can, to that appeal. Unlike with many natural disaster appeals, a lot of people struggle to understand what is happening in this particular situation. So I don't think we've seen the generosity that we normally see from Australians—and, indeed, from other nations around the world—in providing some additional financial assistance. I thank the Australian government for the contribution we have made there, but it is a drop in the ocean. I don't think we should kid ourselves otherwise.

Certainly I know from my discussions with people in those camps there won't be repatriations any time soon without some assurance that there will be safe places for them to return to. That they are able to return to their ancestral lands and villages, not some so-called temporary camp closed off somewhere, is absolutely vital. That is not to mention the question of citizenship, which remains a core issue that needs to be redressed.

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