Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes Australia's proud legacy of working for peace and democracy in Cambodia, led by the work of the former Labor Foreign Minister the Hon. Gareth Evans QC in fostering the Paris Peace Accords in 1991;

(2) reiterates that as a longstanding friend of Cambodia and the Cambodian people, Australia must continue to urge the Cambodian Government to take steps to allow free and open political debate without violence and intimidation;

(3) condemns the sham election in Cambodia last month and expresses grave concern that:

(a) the illegitimate election may sound the death knell of democracy, reversing more than 25 years of work to establish and strengthen democracy in Cambodia; and

(b) Prime Minister Hun Sen's 'victory' is a sham and cannot truly be said to represent the will of the Cambodian people because freedom of expression and association underpin democratic societies, yet in Cambodia the:

  (i) main opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, has been banned;

  (ii) opposition leader Kem Sokha remains in jail on politically motivated charges;

  (iii) media and civil society have been silenced and harassed, with Hun Sen publicly threatening a civil war if he lost the election;

  (iv) National Election Committee is not credible nor independent; and

  (v) official 82 per cent turnout figures are not credible, noting the opposition boycotted the election and international media reported that election day was quiet in many places;

(4) calls on the Cambodian Government to immediately release Kem Sokha from jail and guarantee his safety;

(5) considers that Australia must now consider stronger measures and calls on the Australian Government to:

(a) review Australia's international development assistance to Cambodia to ensure the program is focused on humanitarian and civil society support rather than broader cooperation with Hun Sen's regime;

(b) examine the introduction of targeted sanctions such as visa restrictions and asset freezes for members of Hun Sen's regime and their families, given the reported strong links between the regime's key officials and Australia;

(c) lead and support multilateral efforts with other nations, starting with signatories of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, to develop coordinated measures to increase pressure on Hun Sen's regime to allow free and open political debate without violence and intimidation;

(d) fully investigate allegations of illicit activities, including money laundering, by members of the Cambodian People's Party in Australia; and

(e) guarantee the rights of Australians of Cambodian heritage to live safely and free from intimidation, and determine whether the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme may apply to expose community groups which may be operating covertly in Australia in support of Hun Sen's regime;

(6) calls on the Australian Government to:

(a) withdraw from the refugee resettlement deal; and

(b) promise not to enter into any further such deals with Cambodia; and

(7) acknowledge the tireless advocacy of the Australian Cambodian community in support of democracy and human rights in Cambodia.

The motion speaks for itself, but time permits focus on only a few aspects. When I last spoke on Cambodia, I made clear my view, strongly held, that enough is enough and that it is time that Australia honoured the legacy of Gareth Evans and the then Labor government in support of peace and democracy and examined sanctions on Hun Sen's regime, including visa bans and asset freezes. Events were bad enough then, but in recent months the opposition leader, Kem Sokha, has remained under house arrest even though their fake election, in which, farcically, Hun Sen's CPP won 125 seats out of 125 seats, is over. Shockingly, the Australian filmmaker James Ricketson was convicted on trumped-up charges. Hun Sen is now jailing Australian citizens. What on earth will it take for this government to stop sipping champagne with a dictator?

Australians who are not familiar with the history and situation in Cambodia may well wonder what this has to do with us. Aside from our legacy, aside from good international citizenship, there are growing concerns in the Australian community, especially amongst those people of Cambodian heritage, that this thuggish regime's tentacles now reach our cities and suburbs, influencing our politics, committing crimes here and exploiting and threatening Australians. In August, I hosted Mona Kem, daughter of Kem Sokha, here at the parliament. In her meeting with the then foreign minister, they discussed the potential for tougher measures. I understand the then minister expressed doubt as to whether targeted sanctions by Australia would have any effect.

Cambodians fighting for democracy argued that, in fact, the regime would be most concerned by Australian action—second only to the UK's—as so many senior members of the regime come and go with family and assets here. I have no confidence that our desperate, divided caretaker government will act, so I will use my remaining time to name just a few of the people of concern to those in the Australian community who fight for peace and a true democracy in Cambodia. Some of these people warrant consideration for sanctions, such as visa bans and asset freezes, to put pressure on Hun Sen's regime. An important caveat is that some may now be Australian citizens, so visa bans will not be available. Some warrant investigation for crimes, including money laundering and worse. Many should register when the new foreign influence laws take effect, as they're trying to influence Australian media and MPs, including Liberal MPs.

Within the CPP elite, Hun Manet, Hun Sen's son, has visited Australia many times and oversees CPP political infiltration operations here and in New Zealand. Hun To, Hun Sen's nephew, who has children and assets in Melbourne, has been implicated in a heroin and money-laundering syndicate targeting Australia. Dy Vichea, Hun Sen's son-in-law and deputy chief of Cambodia's police—a gangster force—has mysterious business in Australia, Cambodia and China. Kong Vibol, the head of Cambodia's tax department, involved in shutting down Cambodian media, has owned millions of dollars' worth of property in Australia, including in suburbs in my electorate, and appears to have falsely claimed he's an Australian resident. Kim Santepheap, from Cambodia's Ministry of Justice, is involved in CPP's Australian operations. He visited with Hun Manet and is described to me as a 'vicious' and 'sharp' operator.

The CPP has divided Australia and New Zealand into regions and has front groups overseen by key people in most Australian capital cities. Lau Vann is in Melbourne. He has business links to Hun Sen, is an army general and apparently has children in an elite school in Melbourne. Hou Hap, who is in Sydney, holds Australian citizenship now. Vong Visiddh is in Brisbane. In Meatra is in Adelaide. Sara Nary, or Jason Nary, is a CPP operative making connections with the Liberal Party. Ravuth Lac is allegedly involved in money laundering and labour-hire scams.

We have information regarding dodgy community fundraising events organised by other goons, such as Tong Eang Te and Phany Thai. We have accusations that Samnang Huor is a CPP operative running Chompran Enterprises, involved in labour hire rorts in south-east Melbourne, ripping off workers. We have six Australian community groups which are really just local fronts for the CPP and were reportedly run out of their embassy in Canberra. Koy Kuong, Cambodia's ambassador to Australia, is president of the CPP committee for Australia and New Zealand. There are media reports suggesting that the Cambodian embassy has been involved in smuggling black market alcohol and tobacco.

Regarding the money laundering allegations, Australian banks may have been loaning money and facilitated transactions, which of course raises questions about their compliance with anti-money-laundering laws. Ministers of this government assure us, 'Don't worry, money launderers will be caught.' I don't believe them because Australia's anti-money-laundering laws are shamefully weak. They cover banks but still do not cover other critical gatekeeper professions—most importantly, real estate agents, accountants and lawyers. The government's ongoing silence and failure to list even one speaker on this motion, when giving tens of millions of dollars for refugee deals with Cambodia, is a disgrace. It's about time they fronted up and spoke up.

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