Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like the member for Hotham, I would like to welcome representatives of the Australian Cambodian communities to the House today and Venerables from the various temples in Victoria and New South Wales.

Cambodia has had a tragic past. They suffered the regime of Pol Pot—a murderous regime many of the Cambodians that live in this country are refugees from. They have made themselves model Australian citizens. Certainly, young people have been well represented throughout our professions. They are great members of our community. They believe passionately in democracy, freedom and human rights.

That is why the Cambodian community is here today. They see what is occurring in Cambodia. They see an administration where the police and security are subject to the direct control of the ruling government in Cambodia, an electoral commission that is under government control and the number of political prisoners growing. The tragic part of this is that Australia is a country that supports the development of Cambodian trade. We actually give significant amounts of aid to Cambodia. Our aid should be tied to tangible improvements in human rights and certainly the immediate release of all political prisoners in Cambodia.

I also thank my colleague the member for Hotham for facilitating today's meeting. I think there was a very good exchange of views. I do hope the government takes heed of the request to show some leadership, particularly in our region— (Time expired)