Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Woman, life, freedom.' 'Say her name: Mahsa Amini.' These are just two of the protest movement slogans that have been chanted by Iranians, and Persians all around the world and here in Australia, since September 2022. And we can never forget Mahsa Amini, brutally murdered for wanting to live a life of freedom.

How has this transpired, over three years? We now live with a situation where there are reports—and credible reports, from Iran International—that over 36,500 Iranians were killed in a massacre. Thirty-six thousand, five hundred Iranians killed—for what? For protesting—for wanting to stand up for their rights and have freedom. This protest has been going for over three years, and it continues to escalate. I want to send my support and solidarity to those in the Iranian community in Casey and in the outer east, and to their families, friends and loved ones at home in Iran. You are not alone. We stand with you. We support you.

This journey has not just happened today. It has been going for over three years. I was proud, in the last term of parliament, to stand with my good friend the former member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan, to sponsor political prisoners. Some of those political prisoners paid the ultimate price—being murdered in prison for their beliefs.

In politics, too often people do things because it's easy or because they have to do it as a member of parliament. I want to pay tribute right now to Keith Wolahan. He's no longer in this House, but he's still fighting for the Iranian community. Yesterday he was in Melbourne joining the Iranian protesters to show his support and addressing the crowd—a man of conviction, who has strength in his beliefs, who didn't turn up to support the Iranian community in the last term of parliament because it was his responsibility as a parliamentarian, as he proved yesterday. He's there with the Iranian community through their journey because it is his responsibility as a human. It is his responsibility as the principled person that he is. I congratulate him for showing, not with words but with actions, his strength. He's a great man, and I look forward to continuing to support and work with Keith as we support the Iranian community all across the country.

But the coalition have been calling for action on the IRGC and wanting them to be listed as a terrorist organisation since 2022 and before. Since I came into this parliament, I've been calling for that. So forgive me if it is galling to see the government pat themselves on the back for finally realising, in November 2025, that they should list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation—

An honourable member: After the synagogue—

After synagogues had been attacked and after the Lewis Continental Kitchen had been attacked by the IRGC, in November 2025, this government finally acted. But let's not pretend that that was a surprise. The Iranian community in Australia had been calling for that for years. The coalition had been calling for it for years. Security experts had been calling for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organisation for years.

The answer we will never know and can never know, but a question which many people have is: if those cries had been listened to in 2022, three years before the IRGC-coordinated attacks in our country on the Jewish community, could those attacks have been prevented? Could they have been prevented if the IRGC had been listed in 2022—as so many in the community, including the coalition, had called for?

This government does not get the right to rewrite history and pretend that they acted ahead of time. There were warnings. There was commentary. I can provide the Hansard showing me, Keith Wolahan, Senator Claire Chandler, the member for Berowra Julian Leeser and many others calling for action in 2022, and it took until November of 2025.

The Iranian people in Australia and in Iran deserve better. We will continue to stand with them and continue to fight for them. (Time expired)

See this speech in context