Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Saturday 24 February marked the second anniversary of Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. Over the past two years, people from across the world have watched the remarkable resolve of the Ukrainian people in their fight against tyranny, authoritarianism and coercion. It is this resolve that should serve as a reminder to all of us how precious our way of life is, with the things that we often take for granted: our parliamentary democracy, our freedom to elect our legislators, our freedom to worship the god of our choice, the freedom to speak our minds and the freedom to live free from the fear of bomb or bullet. These are freedoms that we all take for granted—along with the freedom to stand in this chamber and disagree passionately with each other. We should never forget that and we should never stand by when the freedom of others is threatened or taken from them. We need to remember that this isn't just a war about land. This is a war on democratic and individual freedoms.

I met with representatives from the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, who recounted how Russian soldiers are kidnapping Ukrainian children and taking them to education centres to indoctrinate them into believing in a world that exists without their homeland—that Ukraine isn't real. They told me stories of the valour of Ukrainian soldiers using every tool they can get in their fight for freedom, including how our Bushmasters are assisting them on the front line. Dealing with extraordinary challenges, the Ukrainian community here in Australia are a testimony to that same resilience, raising millions in aid for their friends and families back home and advocating tirelessly for more support. Australia's aid, both military and humanitarian, for Ukraine has had bipartisan support, as it should. Something that all sides of this chamber and the other place all agree on is the fundamental principle of a liberal democracy—being able to live free from coercion and from an authoritarian state. Australia's support commenced in 2022 under the Morrison government and has been continued by the Albanese government since the election. This has provided significant support to the people and the armed forces of Ukraine.

However, there is more that we can do, and more that we should do as a country, to continue to help the people of Ukraine. They, like us, are a liberal democracy, and they are at war fighting for their freedom. We have decommissioned MRH-90 Taipan helicopters that Ukraine have asked us to give to them—a simple request that would be negligible from a budgetary perspective. Instead, they are gathering dust in storage facilities, whilst our friends manage a war with ever-diminishing resources, such as transporting injured Ukrainian fighters on the backs of makeshift utes and trucks. What are we doing? Why are we waiting? We need to reopen the Australian embassy in Kyiv, as over 67 other nations have done, including our AUKUS partners, to show a united front with our allies and with Ukraine. Why haven't we done this? As a resource-rich nation we have the opportunity to supply more coal so that Ukraine can keep the lights on during their darkest days. Why can't we do this? We must also work towards finalising the double taxation agreement between Australia and Ukraine to support a rebuilding effort. Amongst all of this, we must deliver a long-term strategy that ensures a sustainable support pipeline for Ukraine in the years ahead. In committing to this, the government would be bolstering our ally's confidence to continue the fight against tyranny.

As former prime minister Abbott said late last year, Ukrainians aren't just fighting for their own freedom; they are fighting for everyone's freedom. Ukrainians are dying so that Americans, Britons, Australians and others don't have to fight and die. It is a reminder of how consequential this conflict is for the continuance of the rules based order and for peace, not just in our region but across the world. If Australia values the rule of law, territorial sovereignty, free and fair trade, human rights and multilateralism, we cannot be passive benefactors of a system that has created the conditions for our nation to flourish. We aren't a country of inaction or complacency when things become difficult—we have demonstrated this historically—and we shouldn't start now.

Senate adjourned at 20:25