Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let me start by acknowledging we have just seen the second anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion into Ukraine. I want to acknowledge the courage and fortitude of the Ukrainian people, led by President Zelenskyy, who we had the pleasure of hearing speak at the UN. These are the hardest days for the people of Ukraine, and we stand with you. Our support should be above politics but clearly it is not. It is so disappointing that, when we look at this motion, we see the coalition's persistent approach to politicising international crises for their own interests here at home; in fact, it is shameful.

The coalition come into this place and criticise the government for our actions in Ukraine when their own party is harbouring pro-Russian supporters. The coalition is nothing but a party of hypocrisy. How dare they accuse the government of weak and too-little-too-late responses to a conflict when they cannot even keep their own back bench in line. The opposition is so strong on Ukraine that you have to ask: Why do you have Senator Antic parading around the Senate floor saying, 'The little fellow from Ukraine, whatever his name is'? That is the seriousness to which the coalition treats this illegal war. Followed by, 'you know, who cares?' in reference to the President of Ukraine. We do. We care. The Australian people care and the global community should care. But, shamefully, once again, you have the Leader of the Opposition hiding, cowering away and not even having the guts to come out and rebuke Antic for his disgusting mockery of the Ukrainian leader. The opposition claim they are experts on defence and security when we know that, when the rubber hits the road, all they are in it for is just for the faux grandstanding for their own political purposes.

We heard the member opposite talk about sending the MRH-90 Taipans to Ukraine. There has been a well-documented complexity to the platform and liability issues. If fact, members opposite were the ones screaming about why were we still using them when there was a fatal crash last year? But now they say they want to give them to someone else, because they do not care. It is all about politics. All they are interested in is playing politics. The MRH-90 Taipan has been managed as a project of concern since 2011 and was unable to meet Defence's capability, availability and affordability requirements. The way the member for Berowra phrased it, it sounded as though we had backtracked due to whims and ponderings rather than actual evidence. It's just not true.

After the tragic crash of the Taipan helicopters last year, the government decided to ground the fleet in September for the safety of Australian soldiers. The opposition was saying these were the worst things in the sky and they are so dangerous they should be out but then they want to go and put Ukrainian lives at risk, and they have done nothing themselves. We heard their rubbish before but what we see now is a consistent case of the opposition being all mouth when in opposition but, in government, cowering like mice in the corner.

The request from Ukraine came in December, three months after the disposal strategy began. Also, the Taipans only had a few months left before being replaced by Black Hawks. The advice of Defence was that none were in flying condition and to get them up to spec would have been a huge investment of taxpayer dollars. The Deputy Prime Minister said

… we need to be making sure, that what we are providing to Ukraine is useful and is practical.

Unlike those opposite, we actually look at the evidence and advice to make informed decisions.

We continue to hear the carping over there from a bloke who is, ironically, on the intelligence committee but couldn't even stand around and listen to what the Americans were saying on the Ukraine war when we were over there in the States.

On 15 February 2024, we announced we would provide a $50 million grant to the International Fund for Ukraine, directly supporting the procurement of priority military capabilities. Australia's overall support for Ukraine is approximately $960 million, including $780 million in assistance for Ukraine's armed forces. This is in addition to the military support that has already been provided, including 120 Bushmasters, 56 M113 armoured vehicles, six 155-millimetre M777 howitzers, anti-armour weapons and ammunition, body armour, winter clothing, defence industry packages, and financial contributions to NATO and the UK to purchase and deliver military assistance to Ukraine on Australia's behalf. Australian personnel continue to train Ukrainian soldiers as part of an extended and expanded mission into the UK. Our Wedgetail aircraft is also lending its capabilities in Germany to help protect the vital international gateway of military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. In addition to the defence support, Australia has provided $70 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the Ukrainian people. We call on Russia to end this illegal invasion of Ukrainian territory, and we will support Ukraine until the conflict ends on their terms.

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