Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I might just build on the comments made by the member for Wentworth. I couldn't disagree with anything he said. I also extend my thanks to the submitters, to the chair and government members but also to the secretariat. This was a bit of an innovation in how we go about these kinds of inquiries. Instead of calling for submissions and cogitating on them for about a year, we used the annual report power to have a look at something that was fast moving. I think it was a good exercise to give voice to people in the community, as well as experts, former ambassadors and so on who had a lot of valuable contributions, under the cover of parliamentary privilege. I think that was a good use of the committee's time and powers.

It's pleasing that the report has been adopted, I think by all members, with strong support, and it clearly condemns the unconstitutional coup. Society in Myanmar has all but stopped functioning in any normal way, and there are, as the previous speaker outlined, great fears for the country. Some said that the country is at risk of civil war. As others pointed out, there has been a civil war in Myanmar for decades. But what they really mean by that is the risk of this breaking out into full-scale urban conflict causing a destabilised region and, indeed, a failed state scenario is the worst possible outcome.

This is not remote or academic to Australia, not just because of our regional interests but because we have, of course, in every state and territory in the country Burmese/Myanmarese diaspora communities who have family and friends in and direct connections back to that country and, of course, we've invested a lot in recent years in trying to help the country as it moves on to what we saw as a more positive trajectory. The recommendations have been outlined. We do support them.

I do want to turn my remarks, though, to the additional comments in the report, building on what the chair has said. These were comments signed by all Labor members of the committee, and I do commend the chair on the honesty of the report, in that the report reflected the evidence we heard—brutal as it was at times. The overarching message that was heard by the committee, as you can see in the report, was enormous community frustration regarding the government's slow, reactive and inadequate response to the coup and resulting crisis in Myanmar. There's been no sense of urgency at any time from Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Prime Minister, despite the seriousness of the situation, and the evidence was consistent and strong that the government has at every step been far too slow to act—just reactive.

In March, Minister Payne told the Senate that sanctions were being considered. In April, at the first public hearing, DFAT told us that sanctions were being considered. Then, at the May public hearing, DFAT advised that after three months of inaction the minister finally decided not to implement sanctions. I commend the committee and the government members for the recommendation that said this needs to be reconsidered. We need to look at this further. The government needs to reconsider the imposition of appropriately targeted sanctions, not just, as Labor has already called for, against key figures behind the coup and the Tatmadaw but, as the report said, against significant Tatmadaw-linked commercial entities. It's really important that other countries look at the multibillion-dollar conglomerates that funnel cash to the regime.

In the first public hearing in April, more than two months after the coup, it was astounding to hear that the government had had no contact at all with the diaspora communities or the democratically elected representatives of the legislature, the CRPH—or, indeed, the National Unity Government by that point—and that there was no advice for Myanmarese citizens resident in Australia. It was only after public pressure—public shaming, in effect, through the committee's public hearings—that DFAT then turned up at the second public hearing months later and claimed they'd made contact with diaspora communities and the CRPH. Now, diaspora groups have told Labor MPs that they know of no-one that's been spoken to by DFAT—no group, no individual—which does raise questions of how genuine and widespread the government's stakeholder engagement effort actually is. It did feel like they'd panicked a bit; they'd been sprung bad and they were having a crack to cover themselves.

It also took months for the home affairs department to provide any advice to Myanmarese citizens regarding visa extensions, yet still there's no firm, reliable commitment that no-one will be forced to return to Myanmar and that the people who can't safely return will be able to stay and build a life in Australia if they wish. I welcome the recommendation that we need to look at pathways to permanency, not just temporary protection.

My final comments would be that the government's slowness to act sends precisely the wrong message to the brave people of Myanmar, the region and democracies around the world. This slowness to act is just like the government's ongoing failure to introduce legislation to enable Magnitsky-style sanctions, dropped into the black hole that is the foreign minister's office. The government has to be proactive, not reactive, in delivering for Australia's interests in the region, and that includes substantive support for democratic values, freedoms and human rights. We can't just say these things; we actually have to be on the front foot and do stuff. The government must do more than just react to committee hearings or public pressure.

In closing, I'll say Australia needs to stand up for our values, human rights and democracy by supporting ASEAN and international efforts as well as taking our own independent actions where they're warranted. It's important that we stand up for our values, we support multilateralism and we work with the region, but we can also act independently in accordance with our values. These two things are not mutually exclusive, as the minister seems to think. I also commend the report to the House and hope that the minister pays some regard to it.

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