Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that general business notice of motion No. 1408 standing in my name for today, relating to hunger strikes and the persecution of Kurdish people in Turkey, be taken as a formal motion?

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there any objection to this motion being taken as formal? There is.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In lieu of suspension, I seek leave to make a short one-minute statement.

Leave granted.

Again the people of Australia are denied the opportunity to see where their political parties stand on an issue of great importance. What's going on at the moment in Turkey is that the Kurdish people have been let down time and time again. Today is almost the 150th day of Leyla Guven's hunger strike. Hundreds of Kurdish political prisoners and others are following her lead, both in Turkey and across Europe. Tragically, several political prisoners in Turkey and Kurdish activists in Germany have now died. All they're seeking is an end to Turkey's harsh and punitive treatment of Abdullah Ocalan. Many bodies, including the Council of Europe and the UK parliament, have called for a different approach and a negotiated solution for Turkey's longstanding dispute with the Kurdish people.