Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I am extremely disappointed with the response given by the minister in relation to this motion. This motion is about reflecting on the death and extending condolences to the family of somebody who was a human rights activist in our region. I was very careful in drafting this motion not to inflame the government, because I know it does not have a clear position on West Papua despite the fact that it probably ought to. Australia is the wealthiest country in our region. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to human rights issues in our region. We have to be a leader. I could have put that in the motion but I did not because I realised that the government was gutless on this. I realised the government did not want to deal with complex foreign affairs matters in this chamber. But this motion is about extending condolences to the family of somebody who worked very hard in our region. I think it is a totally gutless and cowardly act. It is about time the government started relating to foreign affairs matters in our region with some maturity and some responsibility.