Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I think we have all been shocked at the images we've seen on our television screens over the last week and a half. I have to admit I found it very hard to watch, particularly when that US aircraft took off with people desperately clinging to the undercarriage. It reinforces, for us here in Australia, our democracy and our freedoms, and it shows how desperate people are to get out of that country and to escape what they know is going to be the resurgence of the Taliban.

Obviously, the unfolding security and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is devastating for the people of Afghanistan, for the Australian Afghan communities and for the Afghan staff that supported our military and diplomatic operations for over 20 years. It's heartbreaking for our veterans and for the women and girls of Afghanistan, who now face the prospect of a cruel and brutal regime. I think none of us in this place can imagine how brutal and horrific it will be. Many Australians, including veterans, are horrified to see the Taliban surge across the country. Labor members are deeply concerned about the stability of Afghanistan, and we certainly urge the Morrison-Joyce government to work with international partners to help support efforts towards a negotiated settlement and a permanent ceasefire. Labor will use all of the avenues available to us to ensure the Morrison government continues to support the people of Afghanistan, including through our humanitarian assistance program. We know that this is a deeply distressing time for Australians of Afghan descent and Afghan visa holders in Australia who are fearful, quite rightly, for the safety of their loved ones. We have been calling for the Morrison-Joyce government to develop a plan to urgently fast-track visas and evacuations for Australians' immediate family members who are in Afghanistan, along with those who supported our operations. Thousands of husbands, wives, partners and children of Australians have been waiting for years for partner and family visas, and others must now be eligible for refugee and humanitarian visas.

Last week—like, I'm sure, many of us in this place—our office received a lot of phone calls from very, very distressed Afghanis, in the main expressing their concern about their families, and I want to put some of those callers on the record. There have been many calls, and they have been heart-wrenching. The calls are from members of our community begging for action to bring their loved ones from the terrors of Afghanistan to the safety of our home, Australia. Of course, this isn't the first time these pleas have been made. Under the Howard government we saw many Afghan refugees arriving in this country. They were Hazara. At that time I wasn't a member of this place, but I used to go and assist them to fill out their visa applications. I was really shocked to be confronted for the first time with people who lived entirely different lives to the way I lived mine. They were people who put their occupations down as blacksmiths, as tinkers or as shepherds. Some people had 16 or 17 brothers and sisters in their family, many of whom were deceased. They told me horrific stories of persecution under the Taliban so many years ago, and those stories and the faces of those refugees have stayed with me. Now we have, yet again, Afghanis in the same situation. They're asking, begging, for our help.

One male caller noted that he keeps trying to talk to people in power. He's emailed the Minister for Defence and has tried to contact his Liberal member and the Prime Minister. To quote him on his experience pleading for help: 'These people don't see me. They don't care about me.' He continued: 'You'—referring to the person on the other end of the phone in my office—'are the only person who has listened to what I have to say. We just want to be heard. I would like you to pass on my message to the senator and to the parliament. I worked as an interpreter in Afghanistan for Australian troops. My sister, my brother and my family are in hiding. If the Taliban find them, they will slaughter them. I risked my life for Australia and now I feel as though I am not Australian. They treat me differently. I do not belong.' These members of our community do belong. They should be treated with the same level of respect as every other Australian. Times like these are when the Australian spirit should be strong. We look out for one another. The Prime Minister needs to remember that he is representing the people of this country, and they are crying out to be heard. Zakiya is a Cannington resident; Cannington is in the Swan electorate in Western Australia. Her sister is a midwife and her brother is a journalist. Both are in Afghanistan and fear for their safety due to their employment. She is fearful for her family and wishes the Australian government would provide more assistance.

We heard from a man on behalf of the Afghan community—again in the electorate of Swan. He called before the Taliban entered Kabul the weekend before last. He was a battlefield interpreter for the Australian government in Afghanistan. In his own words: 'I have helped the Australian counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan by wearing the Australian Army uniform and going to the front line of the war in Kandahar province and putting my life in danger. My family members are still in Afghanistan. They are shocked. They have nowhere to go, and the life of my family members is in danger. If the Taliban catch my family members, they will slaughter them.' Over and over again, we have heard that word 'slaughter'. It's a word that I'm not using, but it's a word that's been said to the people at the end of the phone in my office. The man continued: 'I'm begging the Australian government to save my family's life by providing them with a visa and bringing them to Australia to live in a safe environment. This is what the US and Canada and the UK are doing right now in Kabul. My family is not safe under the Taliban, because of my job as an interpreter for the Australian Army. On top of that, I'm Hazara and the Taliban has a history of slaughtering Hazara. That has included the slaughtering of hundreds of innocent women and children. Recently'—and we've heard this a few times now coming out of Afghanistan, and we heard it again on the phones last week—'the Taliban has taken away 10- to 12-year-old girls from their families and forced them to marry soldiers.' This man told us that he only has his voice left to help his family and others like them.

Yesterday, I'm proud to say, the Western Australian community held a rally—something we can do in Western Australia because we don't have the COVID restrictions we see in the eastern states—in support of the Afghan people. I want to talk about one of the young women who organised that rally, Rahila Haidary. Rahila was one of the organisers of the Perth rally for Afghanistan yesterday. She lives in Perth and came to Australia with her family on a humanitarian visa when she was very young. Rahila lives in my Labor colleague Anne Aly's electorate of Cowan. Rahila is an Australian citizen. Rahila works in the international humanitarian and human rights sectors and is an advocate for education and female economic empowerment throughout Australia and the world. Her husband, Khalid, came by boat to Australia a year after Rahila arrived. Khalid is still being made to reapply over and over for temporary protection visas. They now have a nine-month-old daughter. Horrifically, they recently received a letter from the Department of Home Affairs saying that their daughter, born in Australia to an Australian citizen mother, was unlawful. The letter was quickly established to be incorrect, but imagine hearing at this time from the Australian government, which is supposed to be protecting you, that your daughter is unlawful. This is just one of the impacts of the Morrison government's ongoing policies, which lack any compassion or empathy, particularly for people who are living in our country in constant uncertainty and fear.

I would implore the Morrison-Joyce government to at least immediately fast-track those Afghan refugees who have remained on temporary protection visas in this country for years and years. Show some humanity. We saw it from Mr Abbott when he was Prime Minister. We can and must do better than what's on offer at the moment. I want, as do my Labor colleagues, to see us lift the number of people we take into this country. I'm really sad to hear the demonisation that has crept into the language of the Morrison government—Mr Dutton and others—just over the last couple of weeks.