Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this important motion moved by my friend and colleague the member for Menzies, and I thank him for bringing the human rights catastrophe in Iran to the attention of this chamber. What we are witnessing in Iran is not an isolated or fleeting crisis. It's a sustained and systemic assault on fundamental human rights. Iranian citizens continue to face brutal repression for the simple act of demanding dignity, freedom and equality. Since the death of Mahsa Amini in custody in 2022, the Iranian regime has responded to peaceful protests with violence, mass arrests, draconian detention, torture and executions. Women are persecuted, beaten and imprisoned for resisting compulsory veiling laws. Protesters are crushed by a regime that rules through fear, arbitrary detention and force. Families are left grieving loved ones who dare to speak out.

Australia has been clear eyed and resolute in our response to these shocking abuses of human rights. The Australian government has stood shoulder to shoulder with the international community in calling for the protection of rights of Iranian citizens. We have used every appropriate diplomatic and multilateral forum to condemn Iran's actions and to demand accountability for those responsible, and we will continue to do so. Importantly, we have strengthened Australia's autonomous sanctions framework so that we can directly target individuals and entities involved in oppression.

Since 2022, Australia has sanctioned more than 220 Iranian linked persons and entities, including over 100 officials and organisations linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The government has also taken the significant step of expelling the Iranian Ambassador to Australia, and we have consistently and forcefully raised our concerns with Iran about its human rights abuses, its destabilising actions in the Middle East and its foreign interference here in Australia.

The decision to expel the ambassador followed deeply disturbing revelations by the Australian Federal Police that Iran had directed on at least two occasions antisemitic attacks on Australian soil. Those attacks were thwarted, but let's be clear that agents of Iran dared to plan a violent attack in our country. That behaviour represents a profound breach of trust, a direct threat to Australian sovereignty and an affront to the safety of our people. Australia will never tolerate foreign intimidation, extremism or terror, and, when our values and security are challenged, we respond decisively. Collectively, the actions of the Australian government matter, and they bring home the threat of state sponsored terrorism and malicious foreign interference for all Australians to see.

On 27 January, I attended a candlelight vigil in Civic Park, Newcastle, to mourn the thousands of innocent lives lost to the brutality of the Iranian regime. I stood alongside members of our local Iranian community—people who carry immense grief, trauma and courage with them every day. The vigil was deeply moving, solemn and powerful and marked a quiet strength and an unyielding demand for justice. I want to acknowledge Diana Abdollahi, who invited me to attend the vigil. Dianna shared with me stories of loss, fear and resilience. She introduced me to those who have lost loved ones, sons, daughters, siblings and best friends—taken by a regime determined to silence dissent and conceal their deadly crackdown on protesters and other dissidents. These conversations are ones I will never forget.

To the Iranian community in Newcastle and across the country and indeed the citizens of Iran, I want to say this: you are not alone. Your voices are heard in this parliament, and your grief, your anger and your hope matter. Australia stands with you. We stand with the women of Iran who refuse to be erased. We stand with the protesters who risk everything for freedom, and we stand with those who have lost loved ones but continue to speak their names. Parliament has a responsibility to speak clearly when human rights are under attack, and today I am pleased that this chamber chooses to stand together in unity and with purpose. This is important.

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