Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my anger at the ongoing human rights abuses occurring in Cambodia and the unwillingness of the current government to do or say anything about this fast-escalating political crisis. I do so on behalf of thousands of Cambodian Australians who I have the great privilege of representing in this chamber. In May I spoke about the anniversary of the murder of Dr Kem Ley, a leading light for the democracy movement and the Cambodian government's most ardent critic. He was shot dead in broad daylight in the streets of Phnom Penh. Since then, the situation has deteriorated further. The Cambodian opposition leader, Kem Sokha, has been arrested on treason charges. The Cambodian government is now attempting to dissolve the opposition party and this week passed a law to redistribute opposition seats back to the government. Extreme violence has been perpetrated to suppress free and fair elections, members of parliament have been beaten and protesters have been shot dead.

How bad does this situation have to get before the foreign minister says something about it? Australia has a special responsibility to the Cambodian people because of our unique role in the Paris peace accords signed 26 years ago next week. These flagrant and violent abuses of human rights are unacceptable to my Cambodian-Australian constituents and they are unacceptable to me. I ask that the Australian government take a stand on this issue. We need to use our power in the region to properly represent my constituents and their family and friends who remain back home in Cambodia.