Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been an extraordinary month, one of the most dangerous months since World War II. Russian aggression has moved into Ukraine, unjustified and unprovoked. It's completely unacceptable. There have been attacks near and around nuclear energy stations, attacks on civilian areas and attacks on the people of Ukraine—for no reason.

When Vladimir Putin started invading Ukraine, emphatic statements were made in Australia that there is no justification for this war. That remains as true today as it was at the start of this conflict. There is no justification for this war. There is no justification for Russia to be in Ukraine at this moment. We would, again, urge Russia to withdraw their troops from Ukraine and stop the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas.

In McNamara, my electorate, we have one of the largest Ukrainian expat populations in Australia. Many of those who came from Ukraine did so at the fall of the Soviet empire, and did so late in their adult lives. They did so fleeing persecution from the Soviet empire. In coming to Australia as an adult, learning English wasn't really an option for many people. So finding work and a place in Australian society was a difficult transition for many people who came from Ukraine. Many in my electorate live in public housing. There is a Ukrainian community in some of the public housing areas in my electorate.

They are, at their core, deeply grateful to our nation for not only giving them safety but for giving them a home and allowing them time to come to this country in safety. Their families have gone on to give so much back to Australian society. Their kids have obviously been able to learn English. Many of the older migrants who came to this country did so in a pretty vulnerable state. They are kind and generous every time I go and visit them and are deeply distressed about the state of their families back home and the country they left behind.

One interesting analysis about Vladimir Putin is that he doesn't use technology. He doesn't use smartphones. He constantly surrounds himself by advisers who are answering his questions. He doesn't use smartphones for a range of reasons, including not wanting to be trackable for international espionage. One of the outcomes of that, perhaps, is that he really doesn't understand the temperature on the ground in Ukraine. He has this romantic idea of Soviet Russia, that the people of Ukraine would welcome back the Russian forces from their European aggressors. But that is not what Ukraine is.

Ukraine is not a country that looks back in history at the Soviet era in the romanticised way Vladimir Putin wants it to. Ukraine is a vibrant democracy, a democracy that is forward leaning, that is full of arts and culture and political debate. It is the sort of country that we are proud to affiliate ourselves with. It is not an autocratic country. It is not a dictatorship. It is a vibrant democracy.

In fact, the person who leads that vibrant democracy years ago found himself as an actor playing the President of Ukraine. He was so convincing in this portrayal that people said to him he should actually run to be the President of Ukraine. He was emphatically voted in with 70 per cent of the presidential vote. You'd think, 'How could a comedian tap into the sentiment of a forward-thinking, proud country like Ukraine?' But the way in which Volodymyr Zelenskyy has withstood the barrage, withstood the pressure, withstood the second largest military in the world, in terms of nuclear capability, and withstood the overwhelming capability of the Russian military on Ukraine's borders and inside Ukrainian territory has been heroic—absolutely heroic. I can't think of another figure in world politics, really since Nelson Mandela, who has been able to galvanise the international community in the way in which President Zelenskyy has. It will be an honour to hear him speak tomorrow in the Australian parliament. We wish him strength. We wish the Ukrainian people strength. We not only wish them victory on the battlefields, in their cities, but we wish them survival so that they can rebuild their amazing country, their country full of life and culture.

As the member for Canberra mentioned before, families have been separated due to the conscription of Ukrainian males who have been forced to stay behind while the females and the children have been at least given the option to flee. That has led to more than three million Ukrainian refugees leaving the country, an extraordinary number, putting huge pressure on Poland, on Romania, on Lithuania, on countries surrounding Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin came into Ukraine with a purpose of what he calls, outrageously, 'de-Nazifying' the Ukrainian people. It is an outdated Soviet mentality that aggression towards the Russian people is shrouded in Nazism. But, as we know, Nazism was something very, very different, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a grandson of Holocaust survivors. The extra sharpness of using that as a justification to invade Ukraine is simply abhorrent and another layer as to why this unjustified invasion of Ukraine is simply unacceptable.

The final thing I'll say is that some of the geostrategic consequences of Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine have been the exact opposite of what he intended when he invaded Ukraine. First of all, it is extraordinary—and it must be noted, as a friend and ally of many in the European Union—that Germany has completely changed its neutrality in terms of military activity, due to the aggression of Vladimir Putin. It is extraordinary that Switzerland has ended its neutrality and has provided aid to the Ukrainians in this contest. It is not insignificant, at this moment in history, that Vladimir Putin, through his aggression and his unjustified war in Ukraine, has galvanised NATO, united Europe and activated the Americans in a way such that there is now constant communication between the United States, NATO, Europe and allies like Australia around the world, to stand united against Vladimir Putin and his outrageous war in Ukraine.

This is important, because the sanctions that we are using and implementing in Australia right now, the sanctions that are being used by Europe and by the United States, by President Biden, are being felt in Russia right now. The people of Russia are smart. They are alive to the fact that this is a deadly, unnecessary war and they are feeling the economic consequences of the international community's sanctions. We need to keep the pressure up, as international citizens. We need to keep the pressure on the Russian oligarchs, on the central power that surrounds Vladimir Putin. We need to stand in constant solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We wish them strength. Their bravery is truly historic and heroic. We wish President Zelenskyy only peace as he and his people fight for their survival. We look forward to welcoming him to the House of Representatives tomorrow.

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