Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on 2 November 2023, Australia with 186 other member states again voted for the United Nations General Assembly resolution against the United States' longstanding economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba;

(b) only two member states have voted consistently against the resolution since it was first introduced in 1992, demonstrating overwhelming international support for the end of the embargo; and

(c) the embargo has unfairly hindered the development of the Cuban economy, created decades of economic hardship and has had a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the Cuban people;

(2) further notes that the embargo:

(a) constitutes a serious and systemic violation of the norms of international law and the Charter of the United Nations;

(b) is not conducive to friendly relations and cooperation between nations and peoples, and it directly affects the development of the Cuban economy and its people; and

(c) impedes the ability of Australian citizens to trade bilaterally;

(3) recognises that sustained international pressure will be one of the most influential methods of ending this enduring and unfair embargo; and

(4) reaffirms Australia's support for an end to the embargo.

I rise to speak on this motion moved in my name, and I acknowledge the presence of Her Excellency Mrs Tanieris Dieguez La O.

For 62 years the Cuban people have been subject to an unfair embargo on their economy, their industry and their society. This embargo, proclaimed by the President of the United States in 1962, was intended to isolate the then government of Cuba, reduce a perceived threat of communism and destabilise the country. Nineteen-sixty-two was a different time. Governments have changed, yet the embargo is still in place. The tensions between Washington and Havana remain unresolved, and the Cuban people continue to bear the brunt of the US sanctions, making daily life harder for Cuban families.

Cuba is currently going through the worst economic crisis in 30 years. Falling wages, regular power outages and a deterioration of public services mean that Cuban people are suffering. The embargo has contributed significantly to this situation. It placed a freeze on all trade to and from Cuba, including the US importation of sugar from Cuba, which was a huge industry at the time, and prevented Cuba from purchasing food and medicines from the US. It continues to prevent US businesses and businesses that are organised under US law or majority owned by US citizens from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It impedes bilateral trade with any country that also trades with the US—including with Australia, which has no sanctions or measures against Cuba that restrict trade or investment—and it prevents the free movement of people from all nations between the US and Cuba.

Often described as a form of economic warfare, the embargo has endured through numerous iterations and US presidential administrations. For Cuba, whose economy in 1962 greatly depended on trade with the US, this has meant an established $130 billion economic loss since the embargo began. It has kept the Cuban people economically isolated and unable to access the benefits of free enterprise and global trade; has denied access to lower-cost goods, including food and life-saving medicines; and has had a significant negative impact on the health, wellbeing and opportunities of the Cuban people.

Since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding resolution calling for an end to the embargo. Each year, the resolution has had overwhelming support from the international community, including last year, when 187 of the 190 member states, together with Australia, voted for the ending of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America on Cuba.

Across both sides of politics, Australia has consistently expressed its opposition to the embargo, on the basis that, while the Australian government, whoever it might be at the time, doesn't endorse internal policies for Cuba, the embargo affects 'the sovereignty of other states, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction, as well as freedom of trade and navigation'. We recognise that this embargo is 'not justified by the principles of international law and comity'.

In the debate on the UN motion, a number of member states also pointed out that the embargo runs counter to the charter of the United Nations and undermines faith in multilateralism. Australia and Cuba have good and enduring diplomatic relations. We have publicly committed to bilateral agreements in the areas of sport, diplomacy and migration, subject to the lifting of the embargo. Through the Direct Aid Program, we support projects to empower women, girls, and disadvantaged and marginalised groups in Cuba, and support education and health outcomes. Australia has worked with Cuba to support the integration of Cuban trained doctors into the Pacific health system, and we note future opportunities to work together in areas of resources, skills, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, tourism and agriculture. Through our embassy in Mexico we support Australian investors who want to do trade with Cuba to navigate the tricky political, economic and regulatory environments.

The US embargo against Cuba has been going on for more than six decades, and it's considered the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. It's estimated that around 80 per cent of Cubans don't recall a time when the embargo was not in place. They don't recall a time when their country had the autonomy to operate according to international law as it should. They don't recall a time when Cubans had prosperity, opportunity and a future free from economic constraint. It's time for this embargo to end, and I call on the House to support this motion.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also wish to formally acknowledge the ambassador and welcome you to the chamber today. Is the motion seconded?

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and rise to speak on this motion which is of profound significance not only for the people of Cuba but for the very principles of international cooperation and mutual respect amongst nations.

Firstly, I'd like to thank the member for Newcastle for putting up this important motion and commend her work as the current chair of the parliamentary friendship group for Cuba. This motion is an important mark of respect for the relationships that the two countries enjoy. I've had the privilege of serving as chair of the group for many years and currently serve as deputy. It has been and continues to be a great pleasure to grow these diplomatic ties, and I must add my voice to this very important message.

I'd like to acknowledge the overwhelming consensus among member states of the United Nations, which, on 2 November 2023, once again voiced their opposition to the United States's economic sanctions against Cuba. The fact that 186 nations stood in solidarity with Cuba underscores the global sentiment that the time for this embargo—a relic of the Cold War era—has long passed. We must return to the normalisation of relations.

This embargo is more than a bilateral issue between the United States and Cuba; it's a matter that concerns the international community. It contravenes the norms of international law and the charter of the United Nations. The repercussions of this embargo extend beyond the confines of Cuba. It hinders the rights of other nations, including Australia, to engage in basic diplomacy. For instance, the Cuban embassy here in Australia has routinely been denied access to Australian bank accounts and, as a result, has struggled to facilitate payments to local suppliers and contractors. These challenges inequitably disrupt the fundamental diplomatic operations of Cuba. This is absolutely ridiculous.

The Cuban people have, for decades, faced undue economic hardship due to the embargo. The impacts on their health, wellbeing and economic development are well documented and remain deeply concerning. This is a stark reminder of how policies rooted in historical animosities can perpetuate suffering and hinder progress towards a more equitable and just world order. Australia recognises the resilience and spirit of the Cuban people. The love, the joy and the culture that they and their country have to share are remarkable, not to mention the music, the dance, the food, the rum and, of course, the cigars.

In all seriousness, we've witnessed firsthand over decades the perseverance of this nation. Cubans' significant achievements, particularly in health care and education, despite this embargo's constraints are, quite frankly, astonishing. These achievements also amount to significant contributions to the global community, with tens of thousands of Cuban doctors regularly performing miracles around the world. Cuba's educational programs, particularly with respect to improving literacy, have given countless millions of people around the world the gift of being able to read and write. There are few nations around the world that have not felt the positive impact that Cuba has provided. Even here in Australia, we have their literacy programs underway in many disadvantaged communities, including one of our major prisons, through the Literacy for Life Foundation and the work of Professor Jack Beetson and his team. They have been successfully implementing this Cuban style literacy campaign in many areas across Australia with great success. It is incumbent on us as representatives of the Australian people and members of the international community to reaffirm our support for an end to the United States' economic sanctions against Cuba.

In closing, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the three Cuban ambassadors in Australia that I've had the pleasure of working with: Jose Manuel Galego Montano; his successor, Ariel Lorenzo Rodríguez; and, of course, the one sitting in the gallery at the moment, the wonderful current ambassador, Her Excellency Tanieris Dieguez La O. Sorry if I pronounced it wrong. I've built up a wonderful relationship with the three of them and their wonderful families. They have made great contributions to the development of ties between our two countries, and I certainly look forward to working on all sides of politics for further development of relations with Cuba and for finally bringing an end to this enduring and unjust embargo.

I will just say in closing that the embargo has been going since 1962. The overwhelming majority of Cubans, who are profoundly impacted by this, weren't even born when this was brought in in 1962. That just shows you how ridiculous this is. It's got to stop.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for bringing forward this motion on the longstanding economic, commercial and financial embargo levelled against Cuba. I want to acknowledge the presence of the Cuban ambassador, who is here with us today.

As the motion notes, in a reflection of the overwhelming international support for the end of the embargo, Australia joined with 186 other member states in voting again in support of the United Nations General Assembly resolution against the United States' longstanding blockade against Cuba. The reality of Cuba's achievements amidst the imposition of the longest and most strict blockade is remarkable, and it's these achievements that I want to highlight today—achievements that have persevered and endured despite this embargo and have shown the resilience and determination of the people of Cuba.

Cuba is a small island nation that lacks natural resources, suffers from regular catastrophic weather events and has had huge economic shocks to its access to markets and resources due to changes in global political events. It has suffered from underdevelopment arising from its colonial past and, of course, the most persistent impediment: the unilateral and overwhelming blockade imposed by the United States for decades, which regrettably continues today. Despite all this, Cuba's achievements in fields critical to all countries have often surpassed those of wealthy industrialised nations in the developed world whose geography, politics, history and economy have worked in their favour. A child born in Cuba today has more chance of survival than a child born in the United States, where infant mortality is on the rise annually as Cuba's continues to decline. Life expectancy in Cuba is higher than that of the United States. Cuba's literacy rate, thanks to its free, universal and exemplary education system, stands amongst the highest in the world. Cuba possesses a highly advanced biotechnology industry that has contributed to global medicine and science, the gains in which are shared by its people, its region and, indeed, the world. Cuban citizens enjoy the benefits of a health system that is free, universally accessible and with more doctors per capita than in the United States. And it provides more medical personnel to the developing world than all of the G8 countries combined, contributing significantly to global health aid efforts.

As we saw during the COVID pandemic, Cuba even contributed to the healthcare outcomes of G8 countries in Europe, COVID's epicentre, through requested medical intervention. Even as I speak, there are almost 500 health workers from Cuba across all specialities in hospitals across Italy's south, providing what Italian doctors describe as 'oxygen to their health system'. In fact, in the last parliament the Australia-Cuban parliamentary friendship group happily supported the nomination of Cuba's Henry Reeve Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize, which may have been instrumental to these life-saving initiatives.

So despite this blockade of Cuba and the difficulties it has imposed on Cuba, a child born in Cuba today, a nation under embargo and sanctions, has more chances of survival, will live longer, will live a healthier life, will have more access to health care, will be more educated and will be more literate than a child born today in the United States, the richest and most powerful country in the world and which has subjected Cuba to siege, subversion and invasion. This is an extraordinary reality and an incredible scale of achievement that otherwise would have seen the collapse of any other country squaring off against odds which have the sole aim of unfairly hindering the development of the Cuban economy through decades of economic hardship. As the motion highlights, the embargo constitutes a serious and systemic violation of the norms of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. The embargo remains to this day the key impediment to the development of the Cuban economy and to the welfare of its people. It impedes the global community's approach to peace and stability and to friendly relations and cooperation between nations and people, and even the ability of Australia's own citizens to trade bilaterally.

If we compare Cuba's achievements with those of neighbouring countries, and Cuba's influence across much of Latin and South America, we see that, despite the embargo and the economic isolation, Cuba has never been isolated from the global community. This is an attribute that attests to the determination and resilience of the people of Cuba. I would like this House to support this motion today and call for an end to and the lifting of the illegal embargo on Cuba.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the presence of the Cuban ambassador in the chamber, and I acknowledge the presence of the co-chairs of the Cuban parliamentary friendship group—the member for Newcastle, who brought this motion to the parliament, and the member for Leichhardt.

I want to talk about trade, because trade is essential and vital. Depending on who you talk to, at least one in five, or maybe one in four, jobs in this country are dependent on trade. I have to say that, when in government, the coalition did a very good job in the space of trade. When we came to government in 2013 only about a quarter of our trade was covered by free trade agreements. When we left in 2022 that percentage had risen to around 80. So we understand the value of trade. As a coalition, we are committed to a rules-based multilateral trading system. We believe open trade and investment helps to grow our economy and to create more jobs. During the period 2013-2016, Andrew Robb was our trade minister—the former member for Goldstein. In February 2016, he led Australia's first-ever business mission to Cuba. At the time he said:

Deepening economic ties, through increased trade and investment helps to promote peace and stability in regions, and increasingly, several countries are looking at Cuba in order to leverage new opportunities to mutual benefit. In this regard Australia is an early mover when it comes to engaging new markets in which to do business.

That's what our trade minister said at the time.

As I said, the first order of trade is always about expanding opportunities for our own exporters by opening up more commercially significant and emerging markets. Our second priority in trade is to support the multilateral trading system. The coalition has always been committed to a rules based multilateral trading system. We believe that open trade and investment create more jobs and grow our economy. They do not just grow our own economy but grow the economies of other nations. We want to ensure that as best we can and as far as possible we can do that.

Of Australia's 16 free trade agreements, 13 entered into force under coalition governments—13 out of 16. The number of exporting businesses has grown by around 56,000, including more than 49,000 small and medium enterprises—that is, 10,000 more than when we came to office back in 2013. Between 2013 and 2022 we finalised 11 trade agreements, including the free trade agreement with United Kingdom and the economic cooperation and trade agreement with India.

This is an important motion that has been moved by the member for Newcastle, who I like, who I think brings some common sense to this place. She and I worked together for the international status of Newcastle airport, which I know she was a great advocate for, and that also led to more investment and opportunities, particularly between New Zealand and our country.

Importantly, Australia supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 2 November last year to which the member for Newcastle's motion refers. Australia has previously supported, for example, a comparable resolution of October 2014 during the coalition's time in government, of course. On each of these two occasions, as the member for Newcastle motion suggests, only the United States and Israel opposed. We understand that. Let's be honest, among the first barriers to any ending of the United States' embargo against Cuba will be the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. We acknowledge that. We appreciate that not everybody will be on the same page when it comes to these things. But I also take heed of what the member for Newcastle said in her remarks. I appreciate the notations in her motion and I appreciate what my good friend the member for Leichhardt has said in the space. I acknowledge, as I say, the willingness, the cooperation, the collaboration that Cuba brings to this debate. The fact that the ambassador is in the chamber listening to this debate is important. It is a landmark moment and, indeed, the motion is vital.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also begin by acknowledging the Ambassador of Cuba, Mrs Tanieris Dieguez, here in the chamber today. I also commend the member for Newcastle for bringing this motion to the House. It is sometimes a little sensitive to talk about something that we have perhaps been criticised about for many years for not doing more about, so it is an important motion that we are debating today.

On 6 April 1960—we're going back 64 years—the then Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs at the US State Department, Lester Mallory, wrote:

The majority of Cubans support Castro …

… … …

The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship … every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba … a line of action which, while as adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.

That statement says it all because that is what it has been about for the last 64 years.

For over six decades, the US has aggressively pursued this harsh policy in its quest to bring Cuba to its knees. Over 80 per cent of Cuban people have lived their entire lives under sanctions and blockades that, really, were initiated before they were even born. Adding to its own sanctions, the US has used its trading influence to prevent other countries, including Australia, and private global businesses from trading with Cuba. And that is perhaps where the real impact comes from, because, if it were just the US, you could say there are plenty of other countries to trade with, but, regrettably, those embargoes and sanctions that have been applied by the US extend much further than the US alone. Indeed, the US has several of its own laws that specifically impose sanctions on Cuba or punish any of the businesses that want to trade with Cuba. The effect is that today 72 per cent of Cuban people live below the poverty line because of those sanctions. As other speakers have already said, these are people that have never shown any aggression towards the USA and were in no way associated with the events prior to 1960, yet they pay the price of a policy that denies them medical supplies, trading opportunities and unrestricted travel and imposes economic development initiative constraints. They can't even have the tourism trade that perhaps they would otherwise be able to have if it were not for those sanctions.

The reality is that those measures do not instil friendship between countries. We know that today more than ever before, with the world in the situation that it is in, we should be building peace and friendship between nations, not trying to separate them. Cuba is reliant on overseas countries for 70 to 80 per cent of its food. Regrettably those trade embargoes diminish the ability of that food to come into the country and, in turn, make it incredibly difficult for the Cuban people. Yet the Cuban people have shown that, through their own initiatives and with all of those embargoes in place, as other speakers have quite rightly pointed out, they have been able to get on with their lives as best they can—but that's not easy.

It is time that those embargoes were lifted, as this motion quite rightly alludes to, as does the resolution of the UN. Just about every country other than two of them, I believe, supported that resolution. It's in global interests to have peace between nations and to allow free trade, because we would all learn from each other and support each other in such a way that we will benefit from that two-way trade. It's so important.

I want to finish with this observation: the last line of each verse of the American national anthem ends with the phrase 'O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave'. It's the statement that, along with the Statue of Liberty, proudly depicts the US values of freedom, justice and opportunity. If the US believes in those values, they should be applied universally to all people, including the people of Cuba. The US should release the shackles on the Cuban people, end the embargo and allow Cuba freedom of trade.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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.