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

Tomorrow, 11 September, marks 51 years since the CIA-backed military coup in Chile. This violent coup deposed the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende and paved the way for 17 years of dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet. What followed was 17 years of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses that inspired military takeovers across Latin America and turned Chile into a laboratory of state violence and unrestricted capitalism—17 years where social security was at the mercy of investment and profitability. Ecosystems were plundered for profit. Communities went without water to feed deregulated agribusiness. Those who challenged this were met with the heavy hand of the state.

History has shown that the ultra-right-wing experiment in Chile turned the country into one of the most unequal in the world, with its cruel legacy remaining a source of trauma and heartache for millions of Chileans, including many who live in my home state of New South Wales. Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst at the National Security Archive in Washington, warns us that contemporary denialism about the atrocities of the Pinochet regime only strengthens the rise of the far right, calling the regime 'a Rosetta Stone for the discussion over the threat of authoritarianism versus the sanctity of democracy'.

This was a Rosetta Stone that the Australian government had a role in carving. Three years ago, the US government declassified previously secret documents that showed how the Australian Secret Intelligence Service opened a base in Santiago in 1971 to assist the CIA's destabilisation of the Chilean government ahead of the coup. This work included handling CIA-recruited Chilean assets in Santiago and filing intelligence reports to CIA headquarters.

More recently, the Albanese government has come under sustained criticism from the Australian Chilean community for its failure to progress the extradition of Adriana Rivas. Ms Rivas is charged in Chile with kidnapping and torture offences against seven political dissidents during the dictatorship. She's lived in Sydney for the past four decades and was first arrested at Chile's request in 2019. The High Court cleared the way for extradition to Chile in 2022, but, for reasons known only to the Albanese government, Ms Rivas still remains in Australia. Surely, as part recompense for Australia's past disgraceful role, it should expedite this request.

I want to take this moment to recognise not only the tortured, the silenced, the disappeared and the dead but also those in the Chilean community here who are yet to experience justice for themselves and their families and to recognise that democracy is fragile and must be protected, sometimes from the very countries we otherwise consider our friends.

I want to acknowledge just some of the 377 Greens council candidates who are running in some 61 council elections across New South Wales this coming weekend. The first I'd like to note is, indeed, Councillor Kym Chapple. I know Kym because I work with her. I have the privilege of working with Kym, an extraordinarily talented councillor on Randwick City Council in her first term.

Just some of her local achievements include her being a South Maroubra Nippers parent, working on the P&C at the local public school and working as a Maroubra United soccer mum. She has also stood with the community against tree removal at Maroubra Reservoir and delivered, finally, a connecting path to South Maroubra Surf Club. She has protected Broadarrow Reserve from an intensive car park proposal, has prioritised accessibility in the Maroubra Junction master plan, has a plan to have wheelchair and pram access to Malabar Headland from south Maroubra and has been bringing forward the renewal of the Maroubra Beach playground. She has ensured that the new water heaters for the Des Renford Leisure Centre will be powered by renewable energy. She fought to retain the planned Maroubra Road cycleway to deliver key connectivity and, for dog walkers, improved access to the rifle range—all of that while being a mum of two small kids, having a very, very busy day job and always being accessible to her local residents. This is an extraordinary achievement in her first term.

I'd also like to acknowledge two councillors from my local council who are up for re-election, councillors Grieve and Robertson, at Woollahra Municipal Council. I know Councillor Grieve because I was elected with her to Woollahra Municipal Council. They've delivered extraordinary achievements: an urban forest strategy to deliver some 30 per cent more canopy cover, a $15 million investment in new street trees over the next 20 years and canopy controls across the municipality. They introduced ward meetings to enhance transparency and better communications between residents.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Your time has expired, Senator Shoebridge.

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

I was told I had 10 minutes.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, five. The clock has been ticking down from five since you stood up. You were on the five-minute list. There is a protocol.

Well, he did not debate it with us and did not inform anybody else. The protocol is that, if you are on the five-minute list and you're not here, you go to the bottom of the list, even if it's after the 10-minute people, and you get five minutes.

That is a written down and agreed protocol. Thank you, Senator Shoebridge.

Senate adjourned at 20:54