Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dr Jamal Rifi is well known to most members of parliament. He is a national figure and a local hero. He has led the push in my part of Sydney for information about COVID-19 in community languages. When government facilities were falling behind in providing my part of Sydney with testing and vaccination, he converted most of his front yard and the car park for his surgery into a testing and vaccination clinic. He has provided my community with a strong voice and strong actions which save lives.

I was shocked to hear this week that a military court in Lebanon has sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. I am grateful to the shadow minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, for having raised this with the government and appreciate that the minister is investigating this. It seems the reason for the sentence, where he was completely denied procedural fairness, is his work with Project Rossana. The objection is because Project Rossana sees cooperation between Muslim doctors like Dr Rifi and Jewish doctors like Dr Ron Finkel.

Let me be clear, there are Palestinians who are only alive because of this work. There are ventilators in the West Bank and Gaza because of this work. Dr Rifi has defended the health of people who live in my part of Sydney and of those who live in Palestine, without fear and with total dedication.

I urge every member and all Australians to stand in solidarity with Dr Jamal Rifi. He is one of us and one of the best of us.