Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to call out the Cambodian government—Hun Sen's gangster regime—for a new tactic to silence dissent: the mass trials of hundreds of people across the world for incitement offences. Australia must push back hard on this, as it affects our citizens, including two of my constituents and a former Victorian MP, Hong Lim. They are Australian citizens. They haven't been to Cambodia for years. Their crime is to speak up from afar in support of human rights and democracy. In a sense, the whole thing is ridiculous. It's a trial by a kangaroo court. No information has been provided. The only notice was their names on a piece of paper nailed on a door in Phnom Penh of a banned political party. They learnt this third hand as word spread. So, in a sense, this is laughable, but it's actually a serious issue for Australia and for those charged.

If these fake crimes stick then Australian citizens could be barred from safe travel through any country with whom Cambodia has extradition arrangements. They may have to declare a criminal record. Freedom of speech in Australia is diminished, yet the Morrison government remains shamefully silent. Make no mistake: this is a blatant attempt at foreign interference in Australia. It's silencing Australian voices. It's way past time this useless excuse for a foreign minister said something, did something. Giving them a list of lawyers is not enough. This is a political issue; it's not a legal issue. The Australian government must speak out and work with like-minded countries to push back on this tactic.