Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of document no. 43.

This body, the Office of the Special Investigator, has been established to 'thoroughly and independently address the alleged criminal offences which fall within our remit'—that is, war crimes in Afghanistan. As my colleague Senator Steele-John said in November:

It is alleged on the public record that innocent people have lost their lives at the hands of Australian soldiers; the individuals responsible must lose more than just their medals and the Australian people must know to what extent those allegations are true.

But the sad truth is that, beyond the war crimes that we've heard reports of, we need a much more honest accounting with the Australian public, and that goes to both Australia's role in the invasion of Afghanistan and Australia's response to the collapse. Australia invaded Afghanistan in support of the US and as part of a coalition. As my former colleague Scott Ludlam pointed out, if the goal was to align ourselves closely with the US, we have succeeded. We have seen more of that since, with our buying into the AUKUS alliance and the critiques that have come from all quarters on that move. But, if the goal was to stabilise the country or the region, we have failed. And not only that but the coalition forces killed thousands of Afghans. The figures are difficult to compile and even harder to comprehend. One estimate based on UN figures suggests that between 2006 and 2020 there were 3,610 civilian casualties killed by international air forces in Afghanistan. That is merely part of a broader estimate of total civilian casualties killed by pro-government forces—8,617 killed tween 2009 and 2020. It's no wonder that we failed to stabilise the country. It's no wonder that the result was the Taliban invading again. All the while, Australia has denied asylum to Afghan people seeking refuge. We have turned away people at our borders and used cruel, heartless detention policies.

As well as the questions that have to be answered about Australia's invasion, we need answers to the Australian government's actions in the months leading up to the collapse of Kabul. We know from public information that the Australian government expected Kabul to fall to the Taliban months before it happened. At the same time, there was a chaotic, turbulent process for people seeking to leave Afghanistan, including people who had worked with the Australian government, such as interpreters. We heard the tragic news this morning that an Afghan interpreter who had worked with the Australian forces was murdered by the Taliban. He was killed. This is the fate of people who worked with our forces who have been left behind. This is their fate at the moment. Yes, during the weeks after the fall of Kabul we got 4,000 people out. But, for those who are left behind, the situation is tragic and the outlook is so bleak.

I want to share just one story with you sent to me a few days ago—one story from the thousands of stories that our Greens offices have received over the past month. This is from an Australian citizen whose wife is trapped in Kabul. In his letter, he told me how the Taliban has been going house to house in Kabul, hunting for his family because they are Hazara Shia people. His wife was an educator of young girls and his father-in-law was a community leader who spoke out against the Taliban's crimes. This person, this Australian citizen, has applied for visas. He has emailed and called upon our government and governments all around the world. He is desperate. His wife is desperate. Their whole family is desperate. But there's been nothing. He cannot even get his wife an emergency humanitarian visa from our government.

We know that since the airlift finished there have been so very few people that the Australian government has supported to get over the borders. We know that the Australian government can do more. It must start with committing to a special intake of at least 20,000 refugees. It's the least we can do. We invaded Afghanistan. We are part of the problem that is now there. The very least we can do is accept a special intake of at least 20,000 refugees, at least matching the actions of other governments around the world. We need to be providing genuine support for those people. It's the least that the Australian government must and should be doing.

Question agreed to.