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

With new reports of violence and retaliation against those expressing their right to protest, this morning the Australian government again called in the Iran charge d'affaires. I welcome the opposition's meeting with the charge a few weeks ago.

It is important that Australia speaks with one voice in conveying the abhorrence of these events. As Iranian authorities have brutally cracked down on protesters, this country has joined in the international condemnation. We have made a number of international interventions, including supporting the convening of a special session of the Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran, which will take place this week. We've provided early co-sponsorship of a resolution calling for a fact-finding mission, and we will advocate intensively to build support for it.

Just as the Iranian representative was left in no doubt, the Senate should be clear of this government's resolve to continue working with others to build pressure on the regime to cease its brutal campaign against its own citizens.