Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I start by offering my congratulations to Hun Sen for his party's crushing victory in Cambodia's recent election. Oh, no, that's right; I may have jumped the gun on this one. Cambodia's general election has not yet occurred and will instead be held in 52 days time, with polling day being 23 July. One could be mistaken for thinking that the outcome of this election is a foregone conclusion. Is it because Hun Sen is loved by the people of Cambodia to such a profound extent? It might explain how Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party can claim to have received over 75 per cent of the vote at the last election with a reported turnout of 83 per cent. That result led to the CPP winning 125 out of the 125 seats in the National Assembly. This result puts even the great Mark McGowan's victory in WA back in 2021 to utter shame.

The CPP are one big election-winning machine. It could not possibly be due to every opposition voice being deemed to be treasonous as well! One of which is Kem Sokha, who was recently handed a 27-year prison sentence for treason, taking away his rights to vote or stand for office indefinitely.

Across the globe elections can be a time of great uncertainty. Some countries do not even pretend to have elections that are free and fair. Other countries may adopt a more hybrid approach to their democracies. I've been involved in many elections in my time, as have many in this chamber today. Some elections you can observe from the outset do not resemble what you and I would expect to see in an election. Opposition movements in Cambodia, like the Candlelight Party, have been disqualified from even running and even fielding candidates on 23 July. Detractors omit the fact that the Cambodian government goes to great lengths to try to engage with members of the opposition—or, alternatively, try them in absentia.

On the subject of those in absentia from Cambodia, I look to our proud Cambodian diaspora, both those located in my electorate of Spence through a number of organisations and places of worship and those in groups, such as the Australian-South East Asian Network. We are better as a nation for the melting pot that is our multicultural diaspora in Australia. I am blessed to possess so many within my electorate of Spence. Whilst on 23 July nobody within our Cambodian diaspora will be shocked to hear of the eventual election results, I will continue to stand with our Australian Cambodian community.