Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The senator did canvas some of this in estimates, and I will repeat what I said to the senator on that occasion. That is that there is, I think, bipartisan, or multiparty, condemnation of what is occurring in Iran. That is also why the government has been very forward leaning in its public statements of condemnation and its engagement through DFAT with the charges here and also at the UN General Assembly. I took the senator through the interaction the government had had, including the statement at the General Assembly on the human rights situation in Iran. We supported calls for a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. And on social media I expressed support for the Canada-Australia-New Zealand statement at the UN Security Council highlighting our concerns about Iran's membership on the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a body that Iran joined whilst the coalition was in government. We joined Canada and New Zealand in expressing those concerns to the UN Security Council and we delivered a further statement to the UN Third Committee Interactive Dialogue. And I can go back further. I have engaged with counterparts, including Melanie Joly, as recently as last week about this issue.

In relation to sanctions: as Senator Payne and Ms Bishop would have said before me, we don't engage in public speculation about sanctions—and you will understand why not. But I would encourage the senator: I understand that this is an issue that many people are concerned about. This isn't a partisan issue; this is an issue we are all— (Time expired)