Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Today marks 50 years since the Pinochet regime came to power in Chile. Given the extensive evidence of ASIS support for the coup, will the minister commit to apologising to the Chilean people and declassifying related documents so that the Australian community and the Australian nation can avoid making the same horrible mistake again?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Steele-John for the question. Yes, I am aware of the coup d'etat in Chile which took place on this day in 1973. The tragedy that that was has been well documented. On this anniversary, we recognise the widespread suffering, the torture, the enforced disappearances and the human rights abuses which occurred during the brutal dictatorship over 17 years. I also want to recognise the Chilean diaspora and its contribution to Australia. There are many who arrived in this country as a consequence of what occurred in 1973 and the ensuing dictatorship. This commemoration serves as a sombre reminder of the importance of safeguarding democracy and the rule of law against attempts to use violence for political gain.

I do have some concerns about some of the commentary that has been engaged in by the Greens political party. I appreciate the position you have on the US alliance. It is not the position—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would you like me to respond? You can all talk.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I beg your pardon. Senator Steele-John. I thought you were holding up a document, but you're seeking a point of order.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can't stand. Necessarily—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate that, but you did raise your hand. I thought you had a document.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. On relevance: my question specifically related to the minister's giving to the Senate a commitment to declassify documents related to ASIS's involvement in the coup. I would ask you to draw her to that element of the question.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Steele-John, your question had a very preamble which the minister is also entitled to address her response to. The minister is being relevant.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was actually making the point, Senator Steele-John, that, whilst I understand that your political party and you personally have different views on the US alliance, we do not share those views.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is about undermining democracy

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Shoebridge, is it your question or is it Senator Steele-John's? I'm happy for you to take a point of order, Senator Shoebridge.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call Senator Shoebridge to order. Senator Wong, have you finished your question?

Order! Senator Shoebridge, I have called you to order. Minister Wong, have you finished your contribution?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that some of the commentary from the Greens has very much focused on the alliance point.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Steele-John, a first supplementary.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, other countries have, or are in the process of, declassifying documents relating to their involvement 50 years ago. Nearly 300 Chilean Australians have signed an open letter addressed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, asking for the declassification and acknowledgment of ASIS involvement. Minister, why will you not show transparency on this issue and ensure the community knows what was done in their name in the lead-up to the coup of '73?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Steele-John. What I would say is that I certainly won't be—and no foreign minister would be—responding to a declassification request on the floor of the Senate. Any request for declassification of national security documents would be considered in the usual appropriate way. It's not a political issue; it is a consideration of how these matters should be dealt with.

I appreciate the political point you're making, and I don't think it would be reasonable to suggest that anybody in this chamber would be anything other than horrified by what occurred in terms of the oppression during Chile's dictatorship. What happened to the Allende government is something that many of us have been engaged with over many years. (Time expired)

The:

Senator Steele-John, a second supplementary question.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the government commit at least to making reparations to Chilean Australians impacted by the coup Australia was involved in, and reform the ASIS security apparatus so that the Australian community and its intelligence agencies are never again brought into a campaign to destabilise a democratically elected government on behalf of the United States?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it's QED on the US alliance point, which is the point I was making at the start of my answer. But what I would say to you is that the security agencies serve the national interest, and that they are subject to oversight from ministers and, increasingly, from entities like the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence Services, which I served on. And that is a good thing; they should be subject to oversight. But, ultimately, political decisions are matters for which politicians take responsibility, and I think that Labor's position in relation to the coup—the overthrow of the Allende government, a duly-elected government—and the subsequent dictatorship can be demonstrated by Labor history.