Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today on behalf of the people of North Sydney to call on our Australian government to make a clear statement and condemn the recent attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenian territory. In the past two weeks, this current conflict has seen: more than 200 Armenian military personnel and four civilians killed; thousands of children taken out of school for fear of shelling of their educational facilities; 192 homes damaged; and over 7,500 people displaced.

Disturbingly, while the ceasefire on the ground appears to be holding, the Azerbaijani forces are now controlling an area which is 7.5 kilometres within Armenia's sovereign borders. At eight kilometres wide, it's almost 1½ times larger than my own federal electorate. Ultimately, the situation remains tense as evidence of human rights violations begin to emerge.

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated, we as a nation did not hesitate to condemn the Putin regime's actions, as we should have. We have come to provide both financial and material resources to Ukraine. Yet, in the case of the invasion of Armenia, we remain silent. With the second-largest Armenian Australian community living within the borders of my electorate, it is difficult for me to account for what appears to be a clear inconsistency on our government's part. In this context, I urge the government to emphasise Australia's commitment to democracy and condemn the Azerbaijan attack on Armenia. To do anything less would be to fail to play our role as a good global citizen.