Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

In a week's time, a political commentator in the United States, Steven Bannon, faces four months jail for contempt of Congress. While this is a criminal charge, it's something that has rarely, or never, led to imprisonment for those who have offended against it. In another case in the last year, Peter Navarro, a former economic adviser to President Trump, has also been imprisoned for the same cause. Of course, in just a matter of weeks, Mr Trump himself, the major opposition leader in the United States, is facing jail.

I do not normally comment on matters in other countries, but the situation in the United States is special because the United States help underpin the rules based order which helps protect us all, yet of course they are not normally subject to those rules as much because they write the rules themselves. But its breach of basic principles of democratic competition and free and fair elections is undermining that so-called rules based order. If this were occurring in any other country or if any other country saw the imprisonment of the major opposition leader just months from an election, there would be calls for an international intervention and observers. But that is not happening in the United States. While we are great friends of that country—and I count myself as one of those—I think it is also incumbent on us to warn of the situation that is emerging there. Far from being a beacon of democracy, the United States is turning into a warning bell for other nations of what not to do and how not to corrupt a democratic process that requires free and open competition of political ideas to allow the settlement of political disputes through that process. I hope there is a free and fair presidential election later this year and our friendship with the United States can last many more decades further.