Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam President, on my first contribution in this, the 47th Parliament of Australia, I acknowledge your significant role as the President and wish you every wish in the international relations that you will be undertaking for our great nation. I want to congratulate the Deputy President and all those who have assumed leadership roles in the course of their service of the Australian people through the 47th Parliament. I also acknowledge the incredible privilege we have as parliamentarians in this fine democracy to have been elected to the Senate to do the kind of work that Shinzo Abe gave his life to. It is no small thing for us to be here, and his service and his final demise are an instruction in not only how fragile life is but also how democracy can be severely attacked and assaulted.

I speak today on the condolence motion for the esteemed former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. Abe was a towering leader in Japan, a political titan who was called 'the shadow shogun' by commentators both during his record tenure as Prime Minister and afterwards. His legacy is the shape of modern Japan and its direction for the next few decades. He was both a powerful and dedicated servant of democracy and an amazing leader of a country.

Unlike those who have contributed to the debate so far, who had much more personal experience of interaction with this fine man, I saw him only through his address here to the parliament, and the three words that came to mind when I thought of his contribution that day were that he was a man of incredible warmth, intelligence and humour. To that Senator Birmingham today added the word 'purposeful', and it was one that resonated with me when you made that contribution, Senator Birmingham. Prime Minister Albanese described the courage and strength of character to which Senator Wong referred in her contribution, and her description of him as a regional visionary is something that we should definitely dwell on—a leader in the Indo-Pacific and responsible for the elevation of the Quad. Senator Payne I think aptly described the loss as appalling.

The baffling and unprecedented nature of this assassination has led to a deep confusion and anguish amongst the Japanese and among global admirers. As US President Joe Biden remarked on this murder, it will have a profound impact on the psyche of the Japanese people, I believe, for a generation. This killing comes at a worrying time. We are seeing democracy under threat across the world from the growing authoritarianism of leaders like Viktor Orban, the further descent of Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Putin along totalitarian paths and the shattering of the United States' democratic consensus by Donald Trump that became manifest in the events of 6 January in the physical assault on the Capitol.

Shinzo Abe positioned Japan as a lynchpin of the democratic global world order and was steadfast in his support for other democracies in the face of that growing tide of opposition. He became over his tenure a key advocate and thought leader of a democratic internationalism adapted for the 21st century, and his murder is an untimely blow against it. His administration was a bulwark against North Korean aggression and gave assistance to those fighting the rise of ISIS. Japan under his stewardship became increasingly an active multilateral partner in the Indo-Pacific, knitting together nearly a dozen nations with what eventually became known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

His influence was still powerful even following his departure from the premiership in 2020. Experts credit his still massive influence in the government, evident in the decision by Japan to declare it would phase out Russian coal and oil imports in the face of its illegal aggression in the Ukraine.

Mr Abe's vision was to shape Japan into a nation that could address the future. His first speech as president boldly stated his ambitions for his country:

… my mission is none other than to draw a new vision of a nation which can withstand the raging waves for the next 50 to 100 years …

All politicians might strive to declare and deliver on such a vision.

Mr Abe's legacy is a revitalised democratic universal order featuring a more proactive and outward-looking Japan at its centre, a nation better able to withstand the raging waves of a tumultuous century. I am sure all of Australia and this house stand with me in thanking Mr Abe for his myriad contributions upon the world and domestic stage. I pass my deepest condolences to the family of Mr Abe and my best wishes to the government and the people of Japan as they navigate the aftermath of this tragic and senseless act.