Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have long argued that this parliament should recognise the Armenian genocide that occurred in 1915. In the past month, the Swedish parliament and the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs have both recognised the genocide. These are very welcome developments. More and more legislatures are voting to recognise this past injustice and it is time that Australia joined in. It is all the more important as we remember that so few witnesses to the genocide remain alive today. The few that do survive deserve justice and deserve to leave this world knowing that this atrocity is no longer being swept under the carpet by nations in the name of diplomacy.

In this context, I want to reflect on the life of one of the last survivors in Australia, who recently passed away. Arshag Badelian passed away early this month at the age of 100. Mr Badelian’s story is one that should motivate us all. He was born in the western Armenian district of Kharpert, now in modern-day Turkey. At the age of about six, his family were driven out of their village on the orders of the Ottoman government. Unlike many of his friends, he avoided being drowned in the Euphrates River. He credited his miraculous escape to his mother’s intelligence and tenacity.

Mr Badelian’s love for his homeland meant he returned to his home after the genocide and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, only to be evicted, along with all other Armenians, from his village in 1927. He fled to Aleppo in northern Syria—which is in fact where my grandfather was born—and ended up in Beirut in Lebanon before migrating to Australia in 1980. After arriving on our shores, Mr Badelian became one of the most respected members of the Australian-Armenian community. His was a well-known face at Armenian commemorations and events and he supported community organisations like the Armenian Relief Society, through which he sponsored three Armenian orphans. He has left a legacy of knowledge, personal testament and life experience that can never be replaced.

I therefore take this opportunity to remember the life of an amazing Armenian-Australian who endured the ordeal of living through the genocide and, motivated by that great sense of community that is so typical of Armenians, dedicated his later years to helping others. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. His passing on the eve of the Armenian genocide’s 95th anniversary also gives us cause to reflect on these terrible events and to recommit ourselves to the mission of ensuring that such a travesty is never again inflicted on any people simply because of their race and their culture.