David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Never in my history have I been so shocked by the blatant aggression and transgression of borders by a country I had grown to know and love. I spent several weeks in Turkey when I was a young man working in the United Kingdom, on the NHS. It's a rich, vibrant culture. I was so shocked when I saw Turkish forces invade another country's territory. Everyone knows the recent horrors of the Middle East. Now there is the spectre of ISIS being let loose again on that area and the cradle of civilisation being torn asunder by conflict, with hundreds of thousands, millions, of people displaced, many murdered, and the evil Daesh/ISIS cult holding sway.

Who stood up to them? The Kurds. The Kurds were one of the most feared opponents of ISIS. They allied with the West and they freed that part of the world from ISIS. If we don't speak up loudly against Turkey doing what they've done, we potentially will be accused, as history goes by, of appeasement. We know what happens when you appease nations who do bad things: they go a little bit further. It is with great sorrow that I'm standing here saying this, but I do call on Australia to speak up—I think we have already; I'll have to check with DFAT. But, in principle, we shouldn't let this lie.

The issue is that borders are where countries are defined. If you disrespect borders and you allow aggression in a pre-emptive sense, which is their whole rationale, then the whole international order breaks down. It is really critical that we look after the Kurds. The Kurds have now allied with the Syrians, who were at one stage their enemies. It is such a complex dynamic in the Middle East. But the principle that applies around the whole world is that borders must be respected. The second principle is: we shouldn't appease things.

I am sure our government has already spoken against what has happened, but this motion brings up a very important issue: we must vociferously speak to Turkey, not just once but continually, and make sure they get the message. Most Australians whom I talk to think the Kurds have got a very raw deal. They got rid of people who were truly evil and now they've got another invasion in their area. I support the concept and the motion that the member has raised. As I said, if we don't follow the principles of not allowing appeasement and respecting borders there will be just continual conflict.

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