Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that during the address by His Excellency Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, President of the Philippines, Senator Rice engaged in unparliamentary and disrespectful conduct and had to be ushered out of the House of Representatives;

(b) expresses its profound disapproval of Senator Rice's unparliamentary conduct; and

(c) censures Senator Rice for the unparliamentary conduct, disrespect of proceedings and disregard for the importance of Australia-Philippines relations.

The address to the Australian parliament by a foreign leader is a both symbolic and serious occasion. It is used by governments, both Labor and Liberal, or coalition, as a tool of statecraft and diplomacy. It is used to further Australia's national interest by strengthening Australia's relations with other nations, those relations between Australia and partner countries. The speeches given in the other place in joint sittings may be given by the leader of another nation, but the honour is one being bestowed upon that nation. Today the honour was bestowed upon the nation of the Philippines. The honour is not, never has been and never will be an endorsement of all policies and actions of that world leader, their government or even their country, but it is an opportunity to advance the common interests Australia has with that nation.

The conduct of the Greens in disrupting the proceedings of joint sittings of this parliament while world leaders address them ignores these facts and undermines Australia's national interest. Repeatedly we see the Australian Greens act as a juvenile protest movement, not as responsible members of the Australian parliament. Membership of this Senate comes with both rights and responsibilities. How we exercise those rights and responsibilities matters. These are choices each of us get to make. Nobody makes the Greens attend joint sittings. There is the option for them to boycott. They don't have to walk over there and attend a joint sitting. There are ample opportunities in this chamber and for their members of the House of Representatives, in the other chamber, to speak and voice and address concerns they have, including concerns about any other country, including one who may have a leader giving a joint address. There are ample opportunities for them to peacefully protest outside of this building too.

But Greens actions like those of Senator Rice this morning abuse the rights accorded to members of parliament and ignore their responsibilities. Nobody else gets to go onto the floor of the House of Representatives and act contrary to the standing orders, in a disorderly manner, and confront a world leader like the Greens do. It's against the standing orders, but they do it in abuse of the rights that they have, and they do it neglectful of their responsibilities as members of this parliament.

We do not bring forward a censure motion lightly, but the coalition is firmly of the view that the behaviour of the Greens cannot be ignored, that it would be weak and irresponsible to pretend that it had never happened or to just sweep it under the carpet, because the reckless actions of the Greens are consequential. If the Greens think that their actions will change the domestic policies of another nation, well, they're even more delusional than we thought they were, but such stands, such actions, that the Greens take do impact on the perceptions of Australia and of the Australian parliament. They will weigh on the judgements of other world leaders when they receive similar invitations.

Ultimately, the actions of the Greens undermine opportunities for statecraft and diplomacy by Australian governments. Whatever the colour or persuasion of those governments, the opportunities are hurt by the Greens' disrespectful, unruly and unparliamentary conduct. That is the most important aspect of concern here: the disregard the Greens show for Australia's relations and interests with another nation, in this case for the importance of Australia-Philippines relations. We heard from President Marcos this morning very clearly how crucial those relations are. We heard it also from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton, and we heard it also from the Prime Minister, Mr Albanese. On all fronts it is clear that, when it comes to our interests—not just bilaterally but, critically, in cooperating for the peace, security and stability of our region—it is essential that our nations work together.

Whatever the validity or otherwise of the concerns the Greens wish to raise, their actions hurt Australia's ability to act in ways that seek to underscore the peace, stability and prosperity of our region. That is why these are shameful actions. They are consequential actions because of the way they will be perceived in other countries and because of the impact they will have on the judgements made by other world leaders. It is why we believe they deserve censure by this chamber. We bring forward this motion to send a message that their actions should not be tolerated and certainly are not supported by any members of parties that seek to form government in this place.