Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Apparently, Senator Payne is outraged at the notion that you would have conditionality clauses in such a treaty that cover issues such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. I urge Senator Payne and other government members to read Don Rothwell’s advice in relation to negotiating positions for Australia with regard to that Australian-Russian agreement because there is obviously room for conditionality and it is not in there. The conditionality clauses on human rights are not in this agreement, nor is there a commitment to the rule of law or to the upholding of democracy and the democracy movement. The European Union went on to express its:

... deep concern at the continuing reports from Russian and international human rights organisations about the use of torture and the commission of inhumane and degrading acts in prisons, police stations and secret detention centres in Chechnya ...

The EU strongly condemned. It called on the Russian authorities to:

... ensure that the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Russia is a signatory, are fully respected in the Chechen Republic ...

It also expressed its concern:

... about social and political polarisation and the restriction of democratic freedoms in the run-up to the Duma elections ...

And called on:

... the EU and on Russia, as a member of the UN Security Council, to assume their responsibility for the Iranian nuclear issue ...

It expressed its concern:

... about declarations made by President Putin in reaction to the United States’ plans to deploy components of its anti-ballistic missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic and calls on all parties involved to engage in dialogue ...

Et cetera, et cetera. So the European Union is very aware of what is going on in Russia. The European Union is also very afraid because when President Putin turned off the gas to Europe he knew very well what he was doing, and it gave all of Europe a sense of the power of Russia as a major energy supplier to Europe, and made the rest of Europe scramble on this issue of energy security, which is why they are going full-on in renewables and trying to develop alternatives so that their dependence on Russia is minimised, given the way things are going.

At the same time, you had the Russians joining in the military exercises under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. You had Russian bombers for the first time resuming their long-range flights. Of course, the bombers I am referring to are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. It is in that scenario that Australia rushes with its Australia-Russia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. I think it is foolhardy in the extreme for Australia to put profits from uranium sales ahead of global security, and that is precisely what is going on here. Nothing in this agreement talks about human rights, the rule of law, freedom of speech or guaranteeing any of those things. There is no reason why all of those things ought not to have been in conditionality clauses. I will be very interested to hear what the opposition has to say because, as I indicated, it is likely to be in government and dealing with the joint house assessment of the process. I would hope that the opposition would take the issue of human rights more seriously than the government does.

I note with interest, of course, that it was the waterside workers who were trying, back in 1938-39, to do the right thing in terms of the exports of pig-iron to Japan. Under this government, of course, not only have we had the secondary boycotts but we now have the ACCC legislation coming in here to try and prevent even any kind of civil protest. So we have a situation where things have moved desperately backwards in the last 70 years in relation to the capacity of civil society in Australia to take action when governments become so bereft of any kind of ethical stand. There is no ethical framework within which this agreement with Russia has been assessed. There has been no discussion of it except in the context of maximising profits from the export of Australian uranium. That is the only context.

BHP and Rio Tinto have been in there all the way. Through you, Mr Acting Deputy President Hutchins: where has there been the input from the academics and the human rights and civil society groups in relation to this Russia-Australia agreement? They have been nowhere; they have been excluded from the process. The values that are behind this agreement are just putting profits ahead of principle and it will be to our detriment. Prime Minister Howard will have the legacy he wants: he will be reminded that he has emulated Pig Iron Bob by becoming ‘Yellowcake John’.