David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate for this opportunity and I thank my fellow senators for their contributions. We've watched on for over a year now at the horrors of the war in Ukraine, a country being invaded, a people fighting bravely and against all odds for their families and for their country. The world has rightly grappled with what to do with such an immoral, illegal and unjust invasion.

I believe we can learn much from the words of a moral giant, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who grappled with this question in the face of Hitler and what to do in that situation. He left some wisdom for us:

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.

The global community has made clear the condemnation of Putin's actions. We must call for an end to this war and we must call for peace. We must stand alongside the Ukrainian people.

I am really proud to represent so many people here in the ACT who have been protesting, fundraising and looking after Ukrainian refugees. Many of them have put their lives on hold to focus on this. I'd really like to take this opportunity to read out some of the words of a few of them. The first one is Canberran Marusya Jacyshyn. She said: 'My parents were forced to leave their beloved homeland, Ukraine, due to the twin horrors of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. They were never to return to their families. Our family arrived in Australia in July 1949. Australia provided a safe haven and hope to rebuild their shattered lies. My late parents worked tirelessly for Ukraine's freedom, sovereignty and independence. This was passed on to their children and grandchildren.

The Ukrainian community in the Canberra region, with their loyal friends and supporters from many countries of origin, have protested for over 12 months, every Saturday, outside the Russian embassy—not just in support of Ukraine's fight for self-determination, freedom and democracy but for that of the free world. I urge the Australian parliament to continue to provide bipartisan support for Ukraine with humanitarian aid, military aid and economic aid. This full-scale war waged on Ukraine by the Russian Federation impacts on all of us. Thank you, Australia. Slava Ukraini.'

The next one is from Andrew Liszczynsky. He said: 'We're 12 months into this war, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian community here is still outraged about the invasion. Ukraine is a sovereign nation and is grimly defending that sovereignty. The Ukrainian community here and all over Australia, and the rest of the world, continue to protest this Russian aggression and will continue to do so whilst Russian forces are in Ukraine. Let's make no mistake, Putin is trying to destroy everything Ukrainian—identity, language, culture, religion and cultural icons. But he will not win, because Ukraine, led by President Zelenskyy, is strong in its resolve. Ukraine is determined to defend all things Ukrainian, and the world is showing massive support because this is simply wrong. Putin will lose and Ukraine will prevail.'

Lastly, I have a contribution from Dimitri Kun. He said: 'Thank you, Australia, for supporting Ukraine. We must continue the support. Russia's disregard for international norms and laws must be stopped by Ukrainians now or else we may find that other dictators, inspired by Putin, start territorial conflicts and wars. That is not a good prospect. We stand with Ukraine and we call for an end to this war. Slava Ukraini.'

Clearly, this is an issue that we need to continue to speak up about. I thank the major parties for their support of Ukraine, at this time, and for the many thousands of Australian people who, in their own way, have protested or shown their support to people in Ukraine.