Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

Yesterday Wagga Wagga hosted a moving ceremony to mark 31 years since we as a city were declared the first Rotary Peace City in the world. That was brought about by the great work of the late Tony Quinlivan, a Rotarian who did so much to foster good relations and world peace. In my keynote speech yesterday, I told those present: 'We live in a troubled world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its third year yesterday. Australia stands in solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We will continue to do what we can to help repel this illegal and immoral attack by the bully Vladimir Putin. We need peace in our world, peace in our community and peace in our hearts. What a wonderful vision and objective that is.'

Putin has form. I well remember when then prime minister Tony Abbott questioned Russia's involvement in the downing of MH17, with the famous 'shirtfront' phrase. Next thing you know, Putin's got his warships bearing down on Australia. This bloke is a dictator—a dictator the likes of whom we probably haven't seen since Hitler rolled his tanks into Poland in September 1939. We all know how that ended: with millions of people dead—and for what? Germany rightly quashed, and the ideology that Hitler spread rightly ended.

As I say, this conflict in Ukraine is now in its third year. We've heard a lot in this debate. I'm glad that the member for Berowra has brought it forward. I'm sorry that he's not here—he's unwell—and he can't speak on it. He did write an excellent piece in the WeekendAustralian, where he mentioned the Taipan. As he pointed out in that op-ed, 'Australia has used the Taipan helicopter since 2007.' I get the argy-bargy, backwards and forwards, about the fact that it has not been provided. I understand the government's position on this, in one sense, but it's better than having nothing at all. I get that manufacturers don't like their equipment, particularly flying machines, being passed on once their use-by date has been reached or their purpose has been fulfilled. Yet I don't think at the moment the Ukrainians care what they've got or in what state it is; they just want something to be able to repel the Russian forces. I tell you what: if your hospitals are being bombed, your children are being killed and your country is at the mercy of an oppressor and a bully, you'll take whatever you can get.

To that end, I do question where the 30 Bushmasters promised by Labor are. But it's not only me questioning. I met with the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations co-chairs this morning, Kateryna Argyrou and Stefan Romaniw OAM, who are wondering where the promised additional 30 Bushmasters are. They are wondering where those wonderful personnel carriers, constructed and manufactured right here in Bendigo, are. The Ukrainians aren't really concerned about whether gear is 100 per cent tickety-boo. They just want equipment. They need equipment. They are desperate, because they are having the bejesus bombed out of them.

I tell you what, when you're up against an enemy such as Russia, when you've had at least 27,449 civilian casualties, you need anything you can get your hands on to protect your people. Just think of that. That's a lot of people; that's bigger than most of the towns in country Australia. You have all those 10,000 deaths. It's a lot of people and a lot of heartache.

The former coalition government delivered a comprehensive $285 million package of support, and that included coal. I'm not quite sure why there has been a delay on the request for coal. Maybe it was to not offend the Greens and their preferences. But we need to be better at supporting Ukraine at this time because they need every bit of help they can get. They've received it in the past, and I implore the government to do more in this important situation.

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