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

I'm pleased to speak in support of this matter of public importance along with colleagues from across the chamber. The erosion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong is of huge concern, and we see that concern playing out today with reports of an Australian citizen and democracy campaigner being sentenced to seven years in prison by a Hong Kong court. The application by Beijing of the national security law in 2020 has seriously eroded the rights of citizens, protesters and the press in Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai is one of many Hongkongers who have been paying the price for the dismantling of proper legal process and the rule of law since the implementation of that national security law. Mr Lai's case has been independently verified by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as being a case of unlawful and arbitrary detention. He's been detained and held in solitary confinement since December 2020, soon after the implementation of the national security law. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has stated that evidence from a key prosecution witness may have also been obtained through torture. Mr Lai has already been prosecuted and sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment for peaceful participation in pro-democracy protests. We must remember that the people of Hong Kong were promised the protection of democratic rights and freedoms when the handover of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese government occurred. It is without question that these rights have not been protected but indeed have been severely undermined by Beijing's actions. Mr Lai should not be in prison. He should be released immediately and unconditionally.

The transnational application of the national security law puts Australians at risk, and we have already seen evidence of this. It is unacceptable to us as Australians that our citizens and residents can be targeted for arrest and conviction under the national security law for exercising their rights to free speech, even here in Australia. It's also unacceptable that there should be any threats or risk of detention for Australians supporting the rights of Jimmy Lai or other citizens of Hong Kong targeted by the national security law.

Australia, along with other nations, has an important role to play in speaking up about the treatment of Jimmy Lai and the national security law. The US and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations, have called for Mr Lai's immediate and unconditional release, and Australia, I believe, has a particular obligation to speak up because of the very unfortunate situation in which there are four Australians still serving as judges in the Hong Kong legal system. It is both appropriate and necessary that we in the Australian parliament speak up about our severe concerns about the repression of pro-democracy protests, the prosecution of journalists, and call for the release of Mr Lai. We have a responsibility to do so and it is pleasing that government, opposition and crossbench senators are joining together to make clear the views of the Australian Senate with this motion here today. It is welcome that officials confirmed at Senate estimates recently that the Australian government has been raising Mr Lai's case with Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. That should continue to happen, and the government has the full support of the coalition to continue to raise those concerns in bilateral engagements as well as in multilateral forums.

The protection of media freedom and the freedom of citizens to protest and criticise their government are fundamental to the protection of human rights. In jurisdictions where media freedom and freedom of speech are severely curtailed and where the press is pressured or compelled to comply with the government, inevitably citizens are subjected to other breaches of their human rights, such as arbitrary detention or torture, and that is exactly what is being reported as happening in Hong Kong, which is why it is so important for Australia as a responsible democracy to stand up for press freedom and against arbitrary detention.

Thank you to my colleagues Senator Sharma and Senator O'Neill for moving this motion, which I urge all senators to support. I encourage the government on behalf of Australia to continue to strenuously object to this dangerous national security law, its application to repress civil rights and particularly the targeting of Australians as a result.