John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Forshaw for that further supplementary question. The government called in the Iranian charge d’affaires in Canberra on 18 June to discuss this matter. The government expressed to him the deep concerns the Australian government had about reports of violence and the deaths of a number of protesters. We said it was very important that all Iranians have the right to peaceful protest and the free expression of their political views. We said it was clear that many ordinary Iranians had very serious doubts about the integrity of the electoral process and the official results and that the ongoing demonstrations in Iran were evidence of that. We urge the Iranian government to address seriously and transparently the issues that were raised by all three—(Time expired)