Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I start by welcoming all of you in the gallery of the Federation Chamber today. Thank you so much for coming and listening to us here today, and welcome to the people's house. I'll also start by thanking and congratulating the member for Moncrieff for raising this critical issue with the House, with the Chamber, with the members present here today and with the broader community. It is such an important and critical issue not just here in Australia but right across the world. We've seen that around the world people have been and continue to be persecuted because of their faith. We have seen communities subjugated. We have seen communities destroyed or oppressed and their belongings and property destroyed. They have been denied access to services, jailed or even worse.

Everybody on this planet deserves the right to be who they want to be. Everybody deserves the right, if they choose, to practise their faith without persecution or repercussion, and I'm a strong advocate for this, as are many of the members here in the Chamber tonight. I will continue be a supporter and a voice for those who are silenced because of their faith or their way of life. Faith is important to many because it provides people with a sense of self, a sense of community and a sense of direction. Faith can unify us, and it can be the guiding light for some during the darkest of times.

A few weeks ago, a gentleman named Vedad visited the Robertson electoral office. He's an elected member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Central Coast. I'm grateful to Vedad for visiting me that day—he has given me permission to use his name—as he was kind enough to provide insight into the Baha'i faith and the Baha'i community on the Central Coast in New South Wales, across Australia and, indeed, around the world. He was describing the Baha'i community, and I'd use the same words that the member for Moncrieff, the member for Macnamara and many members here tonight have used: peaceful, welcoming, educated. They are a beautiful people and a beautiful community. He spoke of the children's spiritual education classes in Gosford and the regular devotional meetings where the Baha'i community on the Central Coast would come together as one.

Vedad also highlighted the difficulties and persecution that the Baha'i community are facing in Iran. As has been noted previously, the government is deeply concerned by reports that, since 2 August 2022, repression and discrimination against the Baha'i people in Iran have increased and intensified. Australia has called and will continue to call on Iran to respect human rights and to cease the discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is engaging with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and will continue to advocate for the human rights of the Baha'i in Iran. Australia's ambassador to Iran raised our concerns to Tehran on 14 June 2022, and most recently the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade raised our concerns with the Iranian embassy in Canberra on 13 October 2022. Australia, as a member of the core drafting group for the UN General Assembly Third Committee resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, played an active role in shaping the language of the resolution, including regarding the Baha'i and other minorities. The resolution was adopted with 79 yes votes and only 28 no votes—a better result than in 2021.

Again I wish to thank the member for Moncrieff for raising this important issue. As I said earlier, Australia will continue to call on Iran to respect human rights and cease the discrimination against minorities. We stand with the Baha'i people and the community both here in Australia and in Iran.

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