Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Yet again we see members of the government blocking the will of the Senate. They see a motion it doesn't like and deny formality yet again.

Like many Australians, the Greens are appalled by the reports of the persecution of the Uyghur people in China. We are seeing images of mass internment camps where more than one million people are reportedly imprisoned. We have seen pictures of surveillance devices tracking ordinary citizens' everyday movements. We've heard Uyghur Muslims have been banned from going to mosque and from praying. We're also hearing reports that mosques are being destroyed.

Thus far, the Morrison government has meekly asked our consular officials to raise concerns behind closed doors, but that is no longer good enough. We must call out publicly these human rights abuses, and we must use our position on the Human Rights Council to advocate for the protection of the human rights of the Uyghur people in China.