Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The government is concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including reported use of re-education centres. On a regular basis, we raise our concerns with China about the treatment of Uyghur citizens, including most recently through our national statement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 11 September. We acknowledge that China has concerns about extremism and instances of terrorism, as do many other countries, but we have urged China to exercise restraint and to address the underlying causes of problems in Xinjiang, including restrictions on religious and cultural freedom and discrimination in employment.

We're also concerned at reports from Uyghur Australians of harassment of their China based families, including detentions, where it is reported that in some cases they are unable to contact family members and relatives, or in other cases they fear that making contact will put them at risk of detention. We will continue, as a government, to seek opportunities to raise these concerns, and we do so in such a way as to promote two-way dialogue between Australia and China on human rights, enabling China to raise concerns about human rights in Australia and vice versa. We'll continue to monitor the situation and raise concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. I thank those opposite for raising this motion today.

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