Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Recently, I attended the Ukrainian church in my electorate. It's a small church in Woolloongabba. I attended alongside the state member for Greenslopes, Joe Kelly MP, and Queensland minister Leanne Linard. Senator Anthony Chisholm was with us. Also in attendance was Australia 's Governor-General, who had come to this small church in Woolloongabba in my electorate, as we all did, to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

As we listened to the service, as we stood with them, we wanted to express our strong support for the Ukrainian community of Australia, the diaspora here, but to all people from Ukraine who are facing a really terrible and unjust war being waged upon them. I think it's important to stand up against imperialism, to stand up against oppression. I want to pay tribute to every Ukrainian person who is standing in defiance, whether at home or abroad, against this unjust war.

It was quite remarkable to me. I had not been to a Ukrainian church service before. We were in this small church but it was really full. The service is sung, and there was this beautiful singing ringing out through the church, in defiance of what was happening in their homeland, and in support for one another. Probably the most remarkable part of this service was when Father Stefan gave the homily. The homily was about forgiveness. It was quite remarkable to be with those people and to hear those words. I want to pay tribute to him, Father Stefan, and Father Martin, who were there with the parishioners.

I also want to pay tribute to the Ukrainian Community of Queensland Inc., which is the community group for Ukrainians in my home state. They organised a good attendance at that service and, subsequent to it, organised a really big, well-attended and impeccably conducted—while I was there, at least—rally in King George Square. It was attended by a number of my colleagues as well as representatives from the broader community but was led by the Ukrainian community. At that rally, that we all attended after the church service, we saw a sea of blue and yellow. We saw defiance. We saw resistance. We saw hope. These are a people who believe that they will prevail in this war, that this unjust war will come to an end and that their people will continue and that their nation will continue.

It was an interesting day. It was during the Brisbane floods. It was 6 March, this rally, and the Brisbane floods, as you probably know, had been happening twice a day for several days in the lead-up to that day. People were still cleaning up. It was incredibly humid and there was mud everywhere. But it was really heartening to see that people took time out even of a disaster to come to King George Square, in the centre of Brisbane, and show that solidarity. A number of us did that.

I want to say congratulations to Peter Bongiorni, the president of the UCQ, and his mum, who very clearly played a big part in the organising of the rally, his partner, the immediate past president of the UCQ and all the members of the committee and the organisation, who'd clearly been working tirelessly in the face of a natural disaster—in the face of war at home—to organise this opportunity for the community to come together and to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

More broadly, it's important for all of us in this parliament to express our support for Ukrainians, who are going through a terrifying and difficult time facing this unjust war, to acknowledge their capacity for defiance, to acknowledge their willingness to stand up. I mentioned the floods. I was thinking during the floods about the Ukrainians while I was out putting sandbags in trucks and making sure the community groups had the connections they needed to deliver services. My counterparts from the Ukrainian parliament, in Ukraine, had their Twitter feeds full of members of parliament having to learn how to use a gun and making the decision to stay in the capital to fight. It was quite humbling.

But the story isn't about members of parliament. It isn't even about President Zelenskyy, no matter how brave and no matter how much leadership he and his family have shown. The story is about individual Ukrainians, everyday people living everyday lives, who all of a sudden are being bombed and facing this campaign against them, who are nonetheless standing together and facing it down. I want to pay tribute to them.

Of course, we've heard from other speakers that Labor stands in solidarity with Ukrainians, as does every member of this parliament, I expect, and as does the nation. I'm certainly very pleased to be part of an opposition, an alternative government, that is willing to render any assistance we can practically provide to the people of Ukraine as they face down this threat, this unjust war, this autocratic regime. I'm proud to be part of a democracy; I'm proud of our democracy. As a strong democracy it is incumbent upon us to stand up for democracy, it is incumbent upon us to stand up against unjust wars. I'm proud to be a small part of an international effort to stand up for these principles that we all believe in.

I again say thank you to all members of the Queensland Ukrainian community and all members of the Australian Ukrainian community for the work they are doing to provide opportunities to stand in solidarity. To those who fight, to those who are at home in Ukraine, to those who are trying to care for children or elderly loved ones, to those who are trying to resist or to those who are just trying to survive: we see you and we stand in solidarity with you.

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