Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Wong, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) acknowledges:

(i) 17 July 2024 marks ten years since the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukrainian territory,

(ii) as a result of this act, 298 innocent people, including 38 people who called Australia home, died,

(iii) the pain of the loss of the 298 lives is still felt intensely today, by their families and their friends all over the world,

(iv) we mourn the lives lost and our thoughts remain with those who lost loved ones, for whom this date will be particularly difficult, and

(v) a memorial service will be held at Parliament House as an opportunity to come together to honour the lives lost and to stand with their families and loved ones;

(b) recognises the work and professionalism of all officials involved in the response to the downing of flight MH17 and the support they provided to families and loved ones over the past decade, including defence and diplomatic staff, as well as the Australian Federal Police who have been part of rigorous independent investigations to support bringing those responsible to justice;

(c) notes Australia and international partners continue to seek accountability pursuant to the Australian-led United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166 (2014):

(i) in November 2022, the District Court of The Hague made unequivocal and conclusive findings of the Russian Federation's involvement in the downing of flight MH17, and findings of guilt against Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko,

(ii) Australia has imposed sanctions against these three individuals, plus a fourth individual, Sergey Muchkaev,

(iii) Australia continues to pursue all avenues available to us to seek justice, including with the Netherlands through the International Civil Aviation Organization Council, and

(iv) together with countries of the Joint Investigations Team—Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine—Australia remains committed to achieving truth, justice and accountability for the victims and their next of kin; and

(d) calls on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.

Question agreed to.