Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I don't get to say this enough in this chamber and other places, but I agree with the member for Wills when he says these things. I want to thank the member for Moore for bringing this to the attention of this parliament and the member for Wills for his contribution because what he says is absolutely 100 per cent right.

This nation, if it is to exist or have any purpose in the world in which we live, must demand not just equality for those of us who happen to live here but equality and justice for all people, no matter where they may be. Sometimes that is easier said than done. Sometimes it means that we find ourselves in conflict with what we would like to do versus what we have to do. But allow me to be clear: this is not one of those instances.

The members of the Baha'i community who live in Iran have been persecuted for too long, for too often by an atrocious and authoritarian regime for no other reason than the fact that they fear them. They fear what they stand for. They fear their ideas. They fear their belief. And this world should not have a single person, wherever they may live, persecuted because of who they are, what they believe or what they stand for.

I am incredibly privileged to have one of the houses of worship of the Baha'i faith in the area that I have the honour to represent. To say that the Baha'i faith is one of the great faiths of this world is no exaggeration, with its belief in unity, peace, love and harmony. During the COVID lockdown, so many of us were worried about what it meant for ourselves and our families. The Baha'i faith undertook a project to understand what it meant for the entire community, not just for the members of their community but for our entire nation.

It would be inappropriate for me to go through this speech without recognising Natalie Mobini, the director of the Office of External Affairs; Shephalie Williams, one of the managers of the Office of External Affairs; Dr Fiona Scott, the national secretary of the Baha'i association; and Mr Chris Heggie of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i of Australia. These people, along with so many others in their community, put together a program that ensured that not only their community were kept together, but so many other members of the Australian community were able to make it through isolation and the challenges of lockdowns and the pandemic.

What would the Iranian regime have to fear from such a belief and such actions? Deputy Speaker, both you and I know the answer to that. Authoritarians hate people who show that peace and love have a place in this world. It has always been, and thus will it always end up being. That is why what the member for Wills said is true--what we say here matters; what we do here matters even more. We must make it clear that we will not allow people in Iran or any other part of the world to be persecuted simply for who they are. Religion should never be used by any country as a tool of isolation, as a tool to persecute or demonise someone or justify the unjustifiable treatment before the law.

The right to freedom of religion, freedom of belief, and freedom of expression are universal human rights that cannot be selectively observed or used by different governments when it suits them. It is part of the millennial program that all members of the United Nations signed up to, that we as a nation signed up to and that the Iranian regime signed up to. They must be true to their agreements. The Morrison government, the Australian government, continues to have a strong stand in support of a just, fair and legal treatment of all faiths in Iran, including the Baha'i community but especially the Baha'i community, for they have been singled out too often.

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