Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Today marks two years since the killing of Mahsa 'Jina' Amini at the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran regime. Her tragic death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, which saw so many Iranian women, girls and young people bravely put their lives on the line to challenge a deeply misogynistic regime which uses fear and violence to maintain its grip on power. The astounding courage that Iranian women showed to stand up and challenge the regime by refusing to cover their hair, as the IRI regime demands that women and girls must, was inspirational but also profoundly shocking to those of us who are fortunate to live in countries where this kind of repression is almost unthinkable.

The Woman, Life, Freedom movement in support of Iranian women spread around the world. Here in Australia, tens of thousands of people attended vigils and protests calling for action by Western governments to hold the IRI regime accountable for its abhorrent actions; to hold them accountable for Mahsa Amini's death and the death of so many other protesters and civilians; to hold them accountable for the gross violations of women's human rights in Iran; to hold them accountable for the terrorism which they support—terrorism which is designed to help spread the evil ideology of the Islamic Republic to neighbouring countries; and to hold them accountable for the deaths, the sexual violence and repression of women and girls that their ideology and their terrorism causes.

The Australian Senate has on a number of occasions joined together to condemn unreservedly the killing of Mahsa Amini and the appalling mistreatment of women and girls by the IRI regime. In doing so, the Senate agreed unanimously to a Senate inquiry into the human rights implications of the regime's violence. The inquiry, which I was privileged to chair, reported at the start of February 2023 and made 12 recommendations for urgent action by the Australian government. Among those crucial recommendations were that the Australian government should take the steps to enable a terror listing of the IRGC and that the relevant ministers should report to parliament on the intimidation and threats by the IRI regime, something that has been confirmed is occurring. We recommend that the government should minimise relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran regime in recognition of the appalling behaviour of that regime. And we recommend any Iranian officials in Australia considered to be involved in intimidation, threats or monitoring of Australians be expelled.

Two years on from the death of Mahsa Amini, how much has really changed? Women and girls in Iran continue to suffer violence at the hands of authorities. The IRI regime has dramatically expanded its terrorism in the Middle East, including by funding and supporting Hamas to carry out the horrific October 7 attacks in which more than 1,200 innocent people, including defenceless women and children, were slaughtered in cold blood. The IRI regime continues to move closer to developing a nuclear bomb. It continues to increase its support for and delivery of weapons to Russia and it continues to threaten, intimidate and spy on critics around the world, including here in Australia.

We need to acknowledge that the IRI regime have been allowed to develop a model in which the worse their behaviour is the more we are told we cannot afford to take action to hold them accountable. We still have not listed the IRGC as a terrorism organisation nor taken any steps to do so. We still have the Iranian ambassador openly advocating extreme antisemitism and the eradication of a democratic nation. We still have Australians living in fear that the regime is watching them and threatening their families. If the Islamic republic regime is able to get away with its human rights abuses and terrorism, others will continue to follow. Look at what is happening once again to women in Afghanistan right now under Taliban rule. How long until we hear how important it is to engage and to have dialogue with the Taliban, as we are told that we must with the IRI regime?

We owe it to Mahsa 'Gina' Amini and to the women of Iran and to the women all around the world, oppressed and mistreated by those in power, not to move our attention onto something else and in doing so normalise and accept this behaviour.