Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) celebrates the release of Mr Peter Greste by the Egyptian Government;

(2) commends the Greste family on its courage, resilience and grace for more than 400 days;

(3) congratulates the Australian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister on their unrelenting pursuit of Mr Greste's cause;

(4) commends the efforts of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Egypt under the direction of Mr Justin Brown and Ambassador Dr Ralph King;

(5) thanks the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for their role in Mr Greste's release;

(6) calls for the immediate release of Mr Greste's colleagues, Mr Baher Mohamed and Mr Mohamed Fadel Fahmy;

(7) recognises the many thousands of ordinary Australians and others around the world that showed their support to the Greste family during the past year; and

(8) notes that 'Telling the truth is not terrorism and Journalism is not a crime'.

How wonderful it is that we can debate this motion today. It is a celebration— a celebration of the release and safe return of an Australian citizen, Peter Greste, held prisoner for more than 400 days for doing his job. It is a celebration of an event that draws together the fundamentals of what is good and right and just about our nation. And, importantly, it is a celebration of family—that one underpinning rock of Australian society.

Peter's work as a foreign correspondent was a role with risk always attendant. However, it is journalists who educate and inform us about our world. Peter's arrest and extraordinary trial were so contrary to justice as we know it that they built a groundswell of opinion across Australia and the world, and across political lines. When I received that first, typically modest email from Juris and Lois, it was hard to comprehend what was happening. Peter had been imprisoned and was in trouble, they said, but just how much trouble we were soon to discover. In the weeks and months that followed, the phone calls and the emails had their highs and lows but never ended in any suggestion of defeat.

By now the basic details of Peter's arrest, incarceration and trial are well known; his first moments of confusion when strangers burst into the hotel room on 29 December; his disbelief at being taken to prison; the months in fearful legal wrangling; followed by what Peter describes as equating to being punched by Mike Tyson, when he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child, and surely it takes a worldwide community of like-minded brothers and sisters to free a man who was doing his job, reporting what was happening in a country in crisis.

Peter's arrest triggered immediate action within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, from the minister and from the Australian Ambassador to Egypt, Dr Ralph King—action that required careful and adroit diplomacy. The challenges were significant. Regional Middle East politics were involved. The political situation in Egypt was charged by its recent history. Developing countries generally do not have the strong and robust institutions of justice that we take for granted. Egypt is no exception. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her department were at their best. It was a carefully planned and constructed response that produced the best result we could have hoped for. I congratulate the minister for her remarkable work. Her handling of this event ensured Peter's release sooner rather than later. She is an outstanding foreign minister, of whom all Australians can be proud.

Presidents and prime ministers also spoke out. Hundreds of journalists around the world covered their mouths with tape and uploaded their photos to social media sites. Thousands of ordinary citizens of the world blogged and tweeted and emailed. And President el-Sisi and the foreign minister of Egypt thankfully kept their minds and their phone lines open to the entreaties of our government.

Importantly, in this place this was a bipartisan issue. I want to pay tribute not just to the minister and members on this side of the House—all of whom did so much—but also to the opposition for their measured and careful role. There is so much about our own nation and our own challenges that demand political debate with a generosity of spirit, absent of barefaced politics and spin. Importantly, we saw this during this difficult time. It should happen more often.

Finally, let me talk about family because with Peter, Lois, Juris, Mike and Andrew we have a remarkable family who came to Peter's aid and did not waver until he was home. Australians watched with enormous admiration as a family fought for him. Lois and Juris, you can be rightfully proud. Together you are a magnificent team. You made us proud to be Australian. In their initial email to me, Juris and Lois said:

We believe this matter is not only about the unjust detention of an Australian citizen but an assault on the free functioning of the press. If we are to uphold Australia's commitment to the notion of a free press being the backbone of a healthy democracy, we should also support that concept throughout the world as a fundamental human rights principle.

Telling the truth is not terrorism. Journalism is not a crime. I commend this motion to House.

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder to the motion?

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak in support of this great motion, which congratulates all those concerned with the release of Peter Greste. Peter Greste went to al-Jazeera's Cairo bureau in December 2013 to cover for a colleague. He expected to be there for a couple of weeks. The result was a horror 400 days in an Egyptian jail—an unjust, demoralising ordeal for someone who was simply doing his job. Peter Greste is an award-winning international correspondent. He has worked in Kabul, Belgrade, London, Mexico, Santiago, the Middle East and Africa.

On 29 December 2013, he and his colleagues Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested by Egyptian police and accused of reporting views which were 'damaging to national security in Egypt'. The reality is that Peter Greste and his al-Jazeera colleagues were pawns in a political dispute concerning Middle Eastern politics. At his trial, there was a clear lack of evidence to substantiate the charges that were brought against Greste and his colleagues. We saw the farcical incidents of the prosecutor presenting video evidence of alleged contraventions of Egyptian law, when the videos were clearly filmed in countries other than Egypt. Nevertheless, despite the inconsistencies with the evidence, despite the misgivings of the trial, Greste and his colleagues were convicted and sentenced on 23 June 2014. Greste and Fahmy received seven-year sentences and Mohamed a 10-year sentence.

In the wake of the sentences there was justified international condemnation, and the international campaign under the banner of 'Journalism is not a crime' thankfully began throughout the world. The campaign received wonderful support internationally through social media and through human rights groups; through the work of journalists supporting their colleagues whom they saw as being unjustly targeted and jailed; through the work of international organisations, in particular the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights; and through the work of many, many colleagues of the parliament and the bipartisan support for the release and the overturning of the convictions.

I want to pay tribute in particular to the very dedicated and professional staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Egypt and Australia who, we all know, worked around the clock and provided invaluable advice not only to the minister but also to Peter's family and to those working to secure their release. You deserve the praise and thanks of all Australians. I thank all of our parliamentary colleagues who joined the campaign, from all sides of politics, to work to secure Peter's release. I pay tribute to Peter's family for their unstinting loyalty and their hard work and dedication to their son and brother.

We also do not forget Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. Although they have been released on bail, their retrial begins today. As we have said from the beginning, being a journalist is not a crime. Journalists should not be put on trial or locked up for doing their job. We continue to campaign and urge the Egyptian government to release Peter Greste's two colleagues, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy. Our thoughts also go to the hundreds of journalists around the world who remain imprisoned. So long as their freedom is diminished, so too is our own.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to join in speaking on this motion to celebrate the release of Peter Greste from prison in Egypt. Peter Greste's courage, determination and strength of character have shone through this. To retain his dignity through this experience is something we commend him for. I read that, during this most difficult period of his life, he said he spent time meditating to help him get through what was undoubtedly a harrowing experience.

While we in this country stand here and talk about the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of the media, we have to admit that still remaining on our statues today are laws that can see a journalist dragged before the Australian courts for merely making a statement or a comment that offends or insults. We are in no position to lecture other countries about freedom of speech and freedom of the media while we still have those laws on our statutes. As the previous speaker, the member for Kingsford Smith noted, 'Journalists should not be put on trial for doing their job.' Unfortunately, we have had journalists here in Australia who have been taken before the courts simply for doing their job.

In speaking on this motion, we should use this opportunity to congratulate the regime of el-Sisi, the new Egyptian President, and try and have some understanding of the problems and difficulties that he currently faces. Egypt is a country where something like 26 per cent of the population over 10 years of age are illiterate, they are running a substantial budget deficit and they have high unemployment. All the countries around them have enormous political instability, which feeds into and affects Egypt. If you go through all the challenges that Egypt has, we can only congratulate President el-Sisi; he deserves our support. Australia and the rest of the world should be getting behind the Egyptian nation, giving them the support that they need to get through these difficult times.

We have seen in the Middle East, over recent years, a great naivety about democracy. There seems to be a misguided understanding that you can simply implant democracy in a country and that the country will go overnight from being almost a totalitarian dictatorship to a full democracy while maintaining the rights and liberties of minorities. This is a greatly naive idea. We see today the complete chaos in Syria, in Libya and in Iraq. These countries need time to develop their democracy, to allow their institutions to develop roots. It is not something you can just force on these countries and expect them to provide full democratic rights for their whole population—not when they face all these internal problems. You cannot expect that to happen overnight.

In speaking about Egypt and the problems that they have currently and will have for many years, last week we saw the appalling beheading of 21 Egyptian citizens, 21 Coptic Christians, in Libya. I do not think that many of us have ever seen such depravity or unspeakable evil. In thinking of Peter Greste, the difficulties that Egypt has and the issue of free speech, we should also send our condolences to the families and friends of those Egyptian citizens who were killed in such brutal and horrific circumstances.

I commend this motion to the House. Freedom of speech is an important concept. Democracy is an important concept. But we must work with Egypt, the largest nation in the Middle East, to help them develop that democracy and establish those institutional roots.

Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Ryan for moving this motion regarding the release of Peter Greste from imprisonment in Egypt after 400 days. I commend the member for Ryan, as well as the member for Moreton—in whose electorate Peter Greste's parents, Lois and Juris, reside—for their endeavours in campaigning for Peter Greste's release.

As I noted in this place on 9 February, it has been inspirational to watch the Greste family, Lois and Juris and Peter's brothers, Michael and Andrew, campaigning with such grace and tenacity to see Peter freed, and to see their joy at their reunion with Peter on Australian soil. Peter, too, has set an incredible example of how to retain one's dignity in a situation of great strain by maintaining one's physical, mental and spiritual health—in Peter's case, through running, studying and meditation while in Tora prison.

Peter has indicated his determination to continue the campaign for justice for his al-Jazeera colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, as well as for his colleagues convicted in absentia, who must go through life with this injustice hanging over their heads until it is remedied. I note that Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed have recently been released on bail, pending a retrial; however, it is hard to be confident that a second trial will be any better than the first one, which represented a major miscarriage of justice, given the lack of any evidence and the appallingly unfair process.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, Egypt remains one of the leading jailers of journalists. For instance, photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid has been in prison for more than 500 days for covering protests. Peter Greste has publicly said he now feels a duty to campaign for media freedom more generally—no easy task when 221 journalists were imprisoned last year, the second worst year since records have been kept. The CPJ has listed China as the worst offender, followed by Iran. Saudi Arabia, when not beheading people for offences including sorcery, has sentenced Raif Badawi, editor of a secularist website, to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $300,000 and 1,000 lashes administered at the rate of 20 each Friday for insulting Islam. Ethiopia is also repressing journalists and bloggers amid a broader crackdown on dissenting voices ahead of the May 2015 election, while Azerbaijan is imprisoning journalists and Turkey is attempting to stifle internet freedom, including Twitter, which CPJ notes is ironic, given the country is set to host the UN's Internet Governance Forum in September.

Unfortunately, as I noted in my speeches on 9 February and last year on 4 September, such attacks on media freedom are not only coming from terrorists and undemocratic governments; here in Australia, our government is becoming increasingly less transparent and accountable. The motion before us includes that the House 'notes that telling the truth is not terrorism and journalism is not a crime'. However, we now have anti-terror laws that include potential jail terms of 10 years for journalists who reveal details of special intelligence operations and the proposed data retention regime would ensure that police and intelligence agencies would have a large source of information with which to hunt down whistleblowers and the journalists to whom they have provided public interest information.

Attorney-General George Brandis approved an ASIO raid designed to intimidate the whistleblower who revealed Australia's spying on East Timor and to seize his passport to prevent him giving evidence in an international court. The lawyer representing him has been threatened with prosecution.

Freedom-of-information laws are being wound back and funding has been removed from the Office of the Information Commissioner in anticipation of it being abolished. The Information Commissioner is currently forced to work from home until the legislation is debated. Under the bill, merits reviews would be returned to the AAT with an $800 fee as a threshold requirement.

Community organisations engaging in advocacy on matters of public interest have been defunded. We have seen a civilian immigration department dealing with humanitarian issues almost transformed into a branch of Defence, with the adoption of military personnel, language and secrecy around 'on-water operations' and the increasing contracting out of former government work such as immigration detention centres, with details of such arrangements being kept from the public as 'commercial in confidence'.

The government is engaging in secret bilateral and multilateral negotiations with other governments on agreements such as the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership that could have long-lasting repercussions for our sovereignty, our freedoms and our economy, yet the media and the community are locked out.

These changes make it harder for people to be informed about government and public service processes and they make it easier for government to carry on in secret, whether that is intercepting, detaining and redirecting people on the high seas; acquiring and holding metadata; criminalising journalism and whistleblowing in the public interest; or signing away Australia's rights to make laws for its own good governance.

In such a constrained global and national environment, an independent and strong media is more vital than ever, Again, I say to Peter Greste: welcome home; there is, unfortunately, much for you to do.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My introductory remarks have had to be recast a little. I was about to say that this is one of the finest moments of the parliament, when we can come together in agreement to support a very important motion. I must say that I commend my colleague and friend the member for Ryan for proposing it. And I commend my colleague the member for Fremantle's initial remarks supporting the member for Ryan, because I think that is when the parliament is at its very best. I do not think that everything the member for Fremantle said was appropriate. In fact, if I had been a little mischievous I might have taken a point of order that the member was not speaking to the motion.

Aside from that, let me just make the point that this resolution is about celebrating the release of Peter Greste; it is to commend his family on their courage, resilience and grace for the more than 400 days in which he was held; it is to commend our consular officials—Justin Brown and Ambassador Ralph King—for their work; it is to thank the Egyptian president for his role; and it is to seek the release of his colleagues. This is a very important motion and one in which I think it is our parliament at its very best, when we can agree on a motion in this form.

I was delighted when it was announced that his appeal had been successful and that then, because of the president's intervention, he was able to be returned to Australia. I was particularly impressed with the way in which his family—his parents, Juris and Lois, and his brothers, Mike and Andrew—supported him as he was detained for so long.

But I think it is important to acknowledge what the government was able to do. It has to be understood in context, because all too often we have consular issues raised with us where Australians abroad find themselves in difficulties—and we want to help our Australians. If you are in a country where the law is not as you understand it here, you can sometimes find yourself inveigled into legal proceedings which are difficult to resolve and where we cannot interfere because foreign legal processes are independent. We would not entertain foreign governments interfering in our processes and it is very difficult for us to do so in theirs.

But the government did conduct a campaign of targeted advocacy. The representations included approaches by the Prime Minister, the foreign minister, the Attorney-General, the Australian Ambassador to Egypt and other senior DFAT officials. The foreign minister made numerous representations. She spoke several times to her counterpart and she also wrote to him. She had been in touch with his predecessor and she raised the case with the Egyptian ambassador here in Australia—as, I might say, did many of us, because we had the opportunity from time to time in some of our structured arrangements to be able to make representation. The Prime Minister made personal approaches to the president as well as to his predecessor during the trial and after the initial conviction. The Attorney-General spoke to his counterpart, the Egyptian Minister for Justice. So I think it is important to recognise that there was a very positive role played within the limits that do exist as to how far you can go when it involves a foreign government.

I have always been particularly impressed with the way in which Australian officials work. I have a case involving a difficulty at the moment in Kenya and I know that the high commission is taking a very considerable interest in it and pressing to try to have the matter resolved. It was important that we recognise that our officials raised this case persistently and constantly, and did so in a way which maintained our capacity to have an ongoing dialogue. I am delighted that his release has been obtained. I thank all of those who were able to achieve it. And, as I said, when the parliament agrees on the terms of a resolution likes this and supports it fully then the parliament is at its best.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I start, I would like to thank the member for Ryan for moving this motion and for her sustained interest and advocacy on this issue. I also want to commend the member for Berowra for his speech, particularly in commending the officials that he has dealt with over so many years. As Father of the Parliament, he has dealt with a number of government officials over more than four decades, so I thank him very much for his commendation of their work and for his acknowledgement of their work.

Last time I spoke about Australian journalist Peter Greste was more than six months ago, and at that time it was a plea for help. By contrast, today we are standing here celebrating his release. In celebrating I would like to commend the Greste family for the strength and resilience that they have shown. I say to them: you took us with you on you quest to bring Peter home, and we were hoping and praying with you every step of the way.

I would also like to congratulate the government—particularly the minister, for her work lobbying the Egyptian government. As the former speaker said, the number of representations that have been made on this, not just from government ministers but also from the opposition, frontbenchers and backbenchers, is significant. I commend everyone and thank everyone for those official representations and for those personal representations.

I would like to come back to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the diplomats and officials who worked tirelessly and quietly on this issue. As the former speaker said: they worked persistently; they worked constantly; they made endless representations; always quietly, always tirelessly, always constantly, always persistently. I congratulate and commend those Foreign Affairs and Trade officials for their great work both here in Australia and overseas for the advocacy work they did on this.

Peter Greste and his two colleagues—Cairo bureau chief and Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy, and producer Baher Mohamed—were detained by Egyptian authorities in December 2013, charged with airing misleading news about Egypt's political situation. What followed was more than 400 days of imprisonment and a worldwide campaign for their release. That campaign was extraordinary, particularly on social media. They were repeatedly denied bail, with their case being repeatedly adjourned. In a letter describing the conditions of Cairo's Tora prison, Greste said 'the authorities routinely violate legally enshrined prisoners' rights, denying visits from lawyers, keeping cells locked for 20 hours a day, 24 hours a day on public holidays.' His prison cell, which he shared with up to three other people, measured three metres by four metres.

Following many long months of lobbying and campaigning by the government, by government officials and by groups like Amnesty International, Peter was deported earlier this month with his conviction overturned. But the fight is not over. The world now looks to Peter's two colleagues, who face a retrial today following their release on bail after they too spent more than a year behind bars. We are all hoping and praying for a similar outcome so the pair can head home to their families and friends—particularly Mohamed, who has a very young child, I understand.

The case of Peter Greste and his al-Jazeera colleagues has reminded us of the importance of press freedom and how lucky we are here in Australia to have a genuine freedom of press. But it is not enough for us to have freedom of press at home. We cannot rest until journalists are free to report from any corner of the globe without fear of harassment or imprisonment. Peter Greste's life and the lives of his colleagues will never be the same. Greste wants to put his experience to use by becoming an advocate for freedom of expression, and I commend him for that.

The trio is now identified with freedom of the press and freedom of speech, and it is vital that this campaign does not stop with their release. We must fight until the last Egyptian journalist is freed from jail. More broadly, we must fight until journalists around the world are free from jail—free from being incarcerated for basically getting out there and telling the truth.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 221 journalists were jailed last year. So, while we celebrate the fact that Peter Greste is back on Australian soil with his loved ones, we must remind the world that telling the truth is not terrorism and being a journalist is not a crime.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Canberra for speaking to this motion. I too would like to commend and congratulate both sides of parliament for the work that has been done on this issue. Obviously the minister has been mentioned many times, but indeed the whole leadership team on both sides of politics should be congratulated. The language used—and more importantly the language that was not used—and the diplomatic approach that was taken to this effort was very bipartisan and showed just what a wonderful result we can get. Also, as has been previously mentioned, departmental officials put a lot of work into this ongoing effort to get this result. So I commend everyone involved in that process.

I had the pleasure of meeting Peter's brother Andrew two or three months ago. I had a wide-ranging conversation with Andrew about the circumstances of what happened to Peter, about how it happened, and about the emotional rollercoaster ride. Andrew and his family—Peter, his mother and father, and the whole extended Greste family—experienced a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the period that this happened; the 400 days that Peter spent in detention. So it is a wonderful result for the family and a good result for the diplomacy of the government.

Obviously Peter's situation, in the sense that he was 400 days in detention, proved interesting to look at—the reasons it happened, and I think there are lessons to be learned here. For the vast majority of Australians the detention of a journalist for doing simply what they perceive to be their job is at odds with our core values of freedom of expression. We have pillars in our community; the separation of church, state and judiciary, and the press is an important part of that separation as well.

The situation in Egypt in the past four years has been characterised by enormous political and social upheaval and grave national security challenges, and I think Peter's case needs to be seen through that rather than being seen in any way as a hostile action directed against our country. I think Peter would admit as well it was almost being in the wrong place at the wrong time. His arrival in Egypt coincided with the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which was branded a terrorist organization. Al-Jazeera, Peter's employer, was seen by the Egyptian government as a key part of the problem. As one of the employees of al-Jazeera English, Peter was unfortunate to be caught in what was a wide sweep by Egyptian security authorities of all groups considered to be sympathetic to the Brotherhood.

Peter was detained in December 2013. He was extended all appropriate consular assistance by officers of the Australian Embassy in Cairo. This was critically important in ensuring his family were reassured that he was safe. His family used to have a catch up with him once every three to four weeks. They were not long meetings but it was very reassuring to the family that every few weeks a member of the family was sitting down with Peter and eyeballing him—seeing that he was alive and well and that he was keeping himself in good spirits.

Peter and his colleagues were, as we know, charged with colluding with the Brotherhood. His trial commenced on 20 February 2014. There were a total of twelve court sessions, culminating in the delivery of the verdict on 23 June 2014 when he was convicted and received a seven-year prison term. Lawyers for Peter announced in August that they had lodged an appeal, which was heard by Egypt's highest appeal court, the Court of Cassation, on 1 January 2015. The appeal was successful. As we know, Peter was subsequently released and has since returned to Australia. His parents, Juris and Lois, and his brothers Mike and Andrew were pillars of strength. They travelled regularly to see him. They are obviously a very tight and loving family because they maintained a public campaign to make sure that Peter's situation was not forgotten by anyone in this chamber, our media or the wider Australian public, which was an important part of this process.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For 400 days, Peter Greste found himself languishing in senseless confinement—400 days marked by missed birthdays, holidays and the precious moments with family and friends which we all take for granted. But while Peter was gone he was never forgotten. His parents, Juris and Lois, tirelessly led the campaign for their son's freedom, as did his siblings, Mike and Andrew, who took turns flying to Cairo and back to ensure their older brother always had kin nearby. I had the privilege of meeting Lois in passing late last year and, whilst I could see how busy she was, the one thing that struck me was her determination, how focussed she was on getting her son home.

Peter was also not forgotten by his journalistic fraternity, who showed their solidarity with poignant images of their mouths gagged with tape. And he was not forgotten by his fellow Australian citizens, or indeed all global citizens, who rallied against an incarceration recognised as an attack on the principles of justice, liberty and the dignity of all human beings.

We all share in the joy that the Grestes feel. Each of us has truly been inspired by their courage and determination. And we pause to thank everyone involved in securing Peter's release and that of his colleagues. And yet, whilst we rightly rejoice in Peter's liberation, it would be wrong of us to overlook the message he so resolutely conveyed from behind prison walls. Dwindling with his colleagues in a small scorching cell, it would have been logical for Peter to be overcome by a sense of bitterness and despair. Instead he found solace in the words of Nietzsche who once said, 'He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.' 'It is such a beautifully succinct way', Peter wrote, 'of saying that it is possible to bear almost any hardship, as long as we have a reason for doing so'. And so there in his cell, under the long shadow of imprisonment, Peter found powerful meaning to his ordeal, transforming his confinement into a campaign for, to use his own words, 'that most basic of rights: the right to know'.

As we speak here today, nearly seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed the right of every person 'to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers', that right remains unmet in far too many parts of the world. As a nation long blessed with a free, pluralistic and independent media, we have a responsibility to stand with all those who are striving to uphold the values we cherish. As members of parliament, we recognise that only when journalists are free to scrutinise and criticise policies and actions can good governance exist. We therefore have a moral imperative to speak up for freedom and transparency and to speak out against repression, so that every journalist can do their job without risk or restraint and every citizen is empowered to be actively engaged in their public and political discourse.

'The freedom of the press will not come without loud sustained pressure,' Peter wrote inside his jail cell. Today I, and I believe all speakers in this motion, lend our voices to this noble cause. We cannot remain silent when global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade and only one in seven people live in a country with what can be described as a 'free' press.' We cannot remain silent when during this past year 66 journalists were reportedly murdered, 119 were kidnapped and 853 were arrested for simply safeguarding what Peter Greste correctly affirmed is 'a fundamental pillar of democracy' and 'an indivisible part of a free society'. And we cannot remain silent when Peter's colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed are yet to be freed.

Peter's campaign and eventual release teaches us that whilst the barriers of oppression may seemingly be unyielding, we should never underestimate how influential people power can be each time we collectively stand up for an ideal, or act to strike out injustice. 'Global support, will be what ultimately saves us', Peter wrote while confined. And every last letter, petition, email, tweet, essay and article the world penned on his behalf not only provided him with comfort during the darkest hours of his incarceration, but it demonstrated that no matter how unjust the circumstances may be, no matter how long the night, justice will always prevail. It highlights that, collectively, we can indeed bring the change we seek. The freeing of Peter Greste therefore represents a moment of hope. Whilst we have rightly come together to celebrate this, let us also come together in renewed dedication and renewed vigour.

Let us vow to stand up and give voice to the millions around the world who are reaching out for the same freedom, opportunities and progress from which we as a nation derive great satisfaction and much strength.

Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Ryan for this motion today. I would like to speak on this motion. On Sunday, 1 February this year, the imprisonment of Australian journalist Peter Greste came to an end. To the Greste family, I would like to say this: you have been a source of admiration. Your persistent stoicism, support and love for Peter is a credit to you as a family and makes me feel humbled and proud to acknowledge you as fellow Australians. In circumstances where at times it must have seemed as though all was lost, you never gave up hope and the dignity with which you continued to campaign for Peter's release has been a shining example for the world.

To Peter's parents, Juris and Lois, and as a parent myself, I cannot imagine what you endured for 13 months in not knowing whether you would ever see your son again. To Peter's brothers, Michael and Andrew, you are both a credit to your family in the way you supported your parents and your brother through all your efforts in travelling to Cairo to visit him and, when back in Australia, maintaining a public campaign to ensure his plight was never forgotten. I want to take the time to specifically mention Peter's brother Andrew, who I had the great pleasure of meeting late last year. I want to highlight my admiration at the calm and respectful manner in which Andrew took up his brother's cause at a time when he and the rest of his family must have been frantic and emotionally distraught as to his brother's welfare. Juris and Lois, all your boys have done you proud.

While Peter's release from prison in Egypt, after more than 400 days in detention, was a source of enormous relief to his family and to the wider Australian community, it highlights for us that all the freedoms we enjoy in this country are freedoms that we can never and should never take for granted. For the vast majority of Australians, the detention of a journalist for simply doing his job was at odds with our core values of freedom of expression and an independent media. What we need to be mindful of though is that the situation in Egypt in the past four years has been characterised by enormous political and social upheaval and grave national security challenges.

Peter Greste was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His arrival in Egypt coincided with the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and it being branded a terrorist organisation. Al-Jazeera was seen by the Egyptian government as key part of that problem and, as one of the employees of al-Jazeera English, Peter and his colleagues were unfortunate to be caught in what was a wide sweep by Egyptian security authorities of all groups considered to be sympathetic to the brotherhood. Peter's case needs to be seen through this prism rather than being seen in any way as a hostile action directed against Australia.

In this spirit, I want to show my gratitude to Egyptian President el-Sisi for his intervention. I want to thank Egypt's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Dr Hassan El-Laithy, who appeared on this matter before this Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade. In the time allocated, I will not be able to mention everyone else who worked to secure Peter's release, but I do want to make specific reference to the personal representations made by the Prime Minister; the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon. George Brandis QC; Australia's Ambassador to Egypt, Dr Ralph King; and Egypt's Foreign Minister Shoukry among many, many others.

I also cannot speak highly enough of the work done by Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Julie Bishop. Her tireless efforts in mobilising the world's diplomatic community in support of Peter's release was nothing short of masterful. At a time when it appears that nuanced subtlety, respect and courtesy is disappearing from our world, Minister Bishop has shown diplomacy to be an art that transcends the blunt instrument of sabre rattling. As a result, Australia's relationship with Egypt has emerged from this incident deeper and more respectful and, I hope, with a greater understanding and a level of trust that will enable us to progress together with even greater security into the future.

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join previous speakers in thanking the member for Ryan for bringing this important matter of private member's business before the House. I think it is critical at this time that the House comes together in a bipartisan way to make clear our view that journalism is not and cannot be a crime.

I acknowledge also the wonderful work of Jane Prentice, the member for Ryan, in her capacity as a co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Amnesty—a capacity I share with her, the member for Denison and Senator Wright—for the work that she has done and the work that she has led in bringing together parliamentarians on all sides of this House and the other place to stand up for Peter Greste and his colleagues and to stand up for their human rights and the human rights of others in similar positions. I acknowledge also her work in dealing with the family of Peter Greste and playing a critical role in building a bridge between their concerns and wider advocacy. I know that it will give her some enormous comfort and, no doubt, some satisfaction that we are here on a note that carries with it a tone of celebration, although I think we do need to qualify that celebration for reasons that I will go on to explore shortly.

It is very pleasing to be part of the debate that is characterised by an absence of rancour. I would like to think that this absence of rancour relates in no small part to the example set by Peter Greste. Through the more than 400 day he spent confined, he showed an extraordinary example of stoicism. He maintained the courage of his convictions and the satisfaction that he was imprisoned for something that was not only a crime that he did not commit but also not a crime. He showed his ongoing faith in the supporters he had here and in the work that he and his colleagues were doing and its importance. I think that is an example that we should continue to uphold once this debate is concluded.

It is also important to acknowledge the support for Peter Greste and his colleagues that existed in the Australian community beyond this place. I pay particular tribute to the extraordinary role his family, his parents and his brothers, played and the example they set. I stand here in awe of their example. I cannot think of the anxieties and fears that would have governed their lives over the past year and a bit. What is extraordinary to note is the hope that never left them and the hope that they gave to so many others. No doubt it was this hope that inspired thousands of Australians to join them, and to join us in this place, in standing up for Peter Greste, for his colleagues, and for the practice of journalism.

In the very limited amount of time available to me, I think it is important to make two wider reflections as we conclude this debate. The role of journalism is more important now than ever, particularly when we think about the extraordinary events that have been taking place in the Middle East, the place Peter Greste was reporting on. If we are to navigate the world in which we live today, standing up for press freedom is more important than ever. It was inspirational to hear the words spoken earlier today in this regard by my colleague, the member for Greenway. She set the moral standard that we should try to live up to. I conclude by saying: as we celebrate the circumstance of Peter Greste, and indeed the progress that has been made for his colleagues, let us also recall the uncertainty that bedevils his colleagues. Let us also recall those dozens of journalists who have been killed in the past year for doing their job; the 12 journalists who are still in jail in Egypt; and the 221 who are in jail today. Let us think about them and let us think about what we can do to advance their human rights, and the human rights of those who depend on them to tell their stories, to enable them to speak truth to power and to live in greater freedom and under real democracy.

Let us also reflect on Australia's role as an exemplar of human rights. In many respects, this debate is an easy one for members in this place to come together on and speak with one powerful voice. There are many questions of human rights, however, that raise greater challenges within this place. I hope that we—not only in this parliament but also across the Australian community—can be consistent in standing up for human rights in Australia and abroad, recognising that they are not divisible.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.