Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—When Australians first heard of the explosion at the port of Beirut, it was an incomprehensible disaster. The mobile phone videos of the sudden explosion, with its massive white shockwave, were truly horrifying. The detonation was so large that it registered on the global detection network of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. More than 215 people died, more than 7,000 were injured and more than 300,000 were displaced, because their very homes were completely lost. Lebanon has not recovered from its grief, nor from its damage. That day also took the life of an Australian citizen, two-year-old Isaac Oehlers. Today we remember Isaac and we once more offer our deep and sincere condolences to his parents, Sarah and Craig, and their families, in their immeasurable grief.

Australia once more reiterates our strong and unequivocal support for a full, credible and transparent investigation into the explosion and for those responsible to be held to account for acts of omission, commission or corruption. Tonight Australia will participate in the third international conference to support the population of Lebanon, co-hosted by the President of France, His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Antonio Guterres. A year after the explosion, Lebanon is facing a more complex crisis—a slide towards the collapse of Lebanon's political and socioeconomic model. Already, according to the United Nations, 1½ million people can no longer afford their essential needs. Australia fully supports international efforts to assist with the Lebanon Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework, known as 3RF, which aims to help Lebanon achieve three central goals in response to the Beirut port explosion: firstly, a people-centred recovery that returns sustainable livelihoods; secondly, the reconstruction of critical assets and infrastructure; and, thirdly, the implementation of reform to help restore people's trust in government institutions by improving governance and accountability. Australia's assistance package to Lebanon, of $15 million, channelled directly through international organisations and NGOs, has assisted Lebanon's direct needs and contributes to a range of additional imperatives, including supporting displaced Syrians and Palestinians now living in Lebanon.

As we all know, Australia is home to around 230,000 citizens of Lebanese heritage—many of my friends in Sydney are part of this vibrant diaspora—and around 20,000 Australians are living in Lebanon. What happens in Lebanon affects us here too. I know how deeply they felt the tragedy of the explosion. The Lebanese diaspora in Australia of all faiths, including Christian, Muslim, Druze and others has been incredibly generous in its donations to international organisations, NGOs and charities as a way to assist those in Lebanon, and I want to acknowledge this warmly. I have had many conversations with the Lebanese communities in Australia. I'm indebted to their tireless efforts, particularly those of Bishop Antoine Tarabay, his broad parish and his excellent advocacy for reform and accountability in Lebanon. I also wish to acknowledge the ambassador to Lebanon, Her Excellency Rebekah Grindlay, and all her staff, who suffered through the explosion themselves with their families but returned immediately to work, despite what had happened to them and to the city in which they had made their home, to help Australians in need of consular assistance and to work with the Lebanese government and our international partners.

There is a great deal of work ahead for the international community and for the Lebanese people if we are to avoid the tragedy of the Beirut explosion becoming an even greater tragedy for all of Lebanon. Australia will continue to play its part in helping Lebanon with humanitarian assistance, with meaningful reforms, with better governance and with genuine accountability.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank the minister for her positive response to my suggestion we mark this tragic anniversary in the chamber today, and we join with her in the comments she's made. On this day one year ago, Australians were horrified by the images of the Beirut port explosion, an explosion more powerful than the one that destroyed the Chernobyl reactor, killing over 200 people, wounding thousands more and wreaking untold damage across the city of Beirut. Tens of thousands were made homeless, and the city remains scarred by this blast. Its reconstruction has been hampered further by, of course, the COVID pandemic and Lebanon's economic collapse.

The youngest victim of the blast was an Australian, two-year-old Isaac Oehlers. Isaac's mother, Sarah Copland, describes her loving and affectionate son thriving in Beirut, already picking up Arabic and French to the delight of locals. Our thoughts today are with Sarah, her husband Craig and their loved ones as they mourn again their loss. Isaac's portrait is memorialised alongside over 200 victims of the blast in Beirut, and we will not forget them.

The opposition also salutes the vital work of our embassy in Beirut throughout this crisis. Australian embassy staff were themselves injured in this blast. Homes were destroyed and their workplace was damaged, but under the leadership of Ambassador Rebekah Grindlay, they managed to navigate the chaos of the explosion's aftermath to ensure Australians in Beirut were accounted for and help them get to safety. We thank them for their work.

This is a particularly difficult time for Lebanese communities in Australia, many of whom are locked down and unable to come together with friends and family, and of course, they remain unable to travel to their homeland to grieve with their loved ones and to help rebuild what was lost. We know that, as a country, Lebanon has faced difficult times before, and now it has a challenging road ahead to rebuild its city, its economy and the trust of its citizens in their political leaders to be transparent and accountable, and this is what the people of Lebanon demand and deserve.

Regrettably, 12 months on from the blast, the grief and losses felt by the people of Lebanon and Lebanese communities in Australia have been compounded by the fact that those responsible have still not had to answer for their failures. This was a tragedy that should have been avoided, but warnings were not heeded, and Lebanon is still grappling with the consequences of this neglect. The victims of this terrible tragedy are still waiting for justice, and the absence of justice inhibits healing. Sarah Copland is fighting for that justice, for a full investigation into how this tragedy could happen and to ensure it never happens again for the victims of that day and for Isaac. So we reiterate our call on the Australian government to support an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the explosion. We stand with the people of Lebanon, with Lebanese communities in Australia and with the Oehlers-Copland family in their grief.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the Australian Greens, I join with colleagues in this chamber, a year on from the devastation of the Beirut explosion, to mark that tragic event that took so many lives. One of the largest non-nuclear blasts ever known, it killed more than 200 people, wounded over 7,000 and caused horrific damage to the beautiful and vibrant city of Beirut. The blast was so devastating it was felt in Cyprus, more than 200 kilometres away. The footage from the blast was so shocking to watch. An entire building destroyed, shock waves spreading across the city—I cannot imagine what it was like to experience it directly.

In the aftermath of the destruction, the courage of the survivors was incredible and inspiring. People took to the streets, helping each other among the devastation and the chaos. They shifted rubble, cared for the wounded and did everything they could to look after each other. In the weeks following the blast, volunteers arrived from around the country and further afield, doing what they could wherever they could. We should particularly acknowledge the response of the Australian Lebanese community. Around Australia—even in Melbourne, which was locked down at the time—people responded with compassion and care, showing support for the survivors half a world away.

While the courage of the community has been inspiring, a year later many people are still waiting for much-needed accountability and transparency over what actually went wrong. Our hearts go out to those who are mourning and who have not yet received answers, and we acknowledge the incredible grief and trauma that they feel. We particularly acknowledge the Australian family of two-year-old Isaac Oehlers, the youngest victim of the blast, and that family's ongoing struggle for justice. The Australian Greens support the calls from many people and organisations for an independent investigation conducted by or under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The survivors and the victims deserve accountability. They deserve answers about why tonnes of a dangerous explosive chemical were stored unsafely for years. They deserve to know why nobody warned them of the danger. To those survivors who are still grieving, still mourning and still searching for answers: we share your grief at the tragic loss of life and we share your passion for justice and accountability. I thank the Senate.