Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank my good friend the member for Adelaide for this motion. I want to acknowledge his longstanding support for the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Australian community in his electorate and across the country.

Just over a week ago, on 24 August, we marked the 34th anniversary of the Ukrainian declaration of independence. It was wonderful to see the Ukrainian community sharing the occasion, with independence day events around Australia, many of which were attended by MPs and senators, including in Brisbane. At the same time, it was a bittersweet moment and a poignant reminder of the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia's illegal, immoral and unprovoked full-scale invasion of their country.

I want to take this opportunity to reiterate Australia's strong and steadfast support for Ukraine and its people, not just because it's in Australia's national interest but because it's the right thing to do. What happens in the Euro-Atlantic region has serious implications for our region, the Indo Pacific, and vice-versa. In my capacity as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I have met the Ukrainian ambassador, His Excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko, a number of times, and I've conveyed that message to him directly.

Make no mistake: this is a David and Goliath struggle not just for the people of Ukraine but for their national sovereignty and existence. This is a monumental struggle for international rule of law and the global rules based order, and it is a just war on the part of Ukraine. It's clear that President Putin's regime has imperialistic designs for Ukraine and beyond. We must ensure that Russia's illegal and immoral actions are not rewarded through any peace process. Australia supports all meaningful progress towards a just and enduring peace in Ukraine for broader security in Europe, but pressure will need to be applied to Russia to engage in good faith.

Australia will continue to work on delivering concrete actions to support Ukraine now and into the future. We are always open to considering any new proposal to support Ukraine, as we've done in the past according to our capacity and based on our comparative strengths. We have provided more than $1.5 billion in support, including $1.3 billion in military assistance and through vital equipment and training of Ukrainian forces—making us the largest non-NATO contributor of military assistance to Ukraine—and more than $85 million in humanitarian assistance. As part of this, we transferred the first tranche of Australian gifted M1A1 Abrams tanks in July, in response to a request from Ukraine.

The Australian Defence Force also continues to contribute to multinational efforts to train Ukrainian military personnel under Operation Kudu. I met with ADF personnel based in southern England who are training with Ukrainian citizen soldiers as a part of Operation Interflex, and I spoke with Ukrainian translators and Ukrainian troops. I did this as part of a parliamentary delegation to the UK in 2023. The ADF personnel who were there are committed, like the Australian public, to training thousands of these Ukrainian citizen soldiers. We have, in fact, trained about 3,000 of their soldiers. Australia is open to working with other countries, as we've done in that effort and operation. Australia will consider any further request to contribute to future peacekeeping efforts in support of a just and lasting peace, which we all want for Ukraine. We have, as a country, a proud tradition of supporting peace through 80 years of contributions to international peacekeeping missions.

Of course, peacekeeping missions, by definition, require a precondition of peace, and that's why we support all meaningful progress towards a just and enduring peace in Ukraine for the broader security of Europe. The future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. At the end of the day, a lasting peace should uphold Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, support security and stability in Europe and ensure that Russia does not renew its aggression. To that end, we welcome the United States recently convening the meeting with President Zelenskyy and the European leaders to work towards a peace deal that ends Russia's illegal and immoral war and safeguards security and stability. Now it's up to President Putin. He needs to show he's serious. So far, he hasn't. We will continue to support a just, lasting and comprehensive peace for Ukraine, on its terms, and security and stability in Europe.

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