Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I've got to say it's shocking that the government would refuse to consider this motion. This motion was deliberately framed in a way that uses the government's own language. This reflects what the government has been saying about the situation in China. I've spoken already in this chamber this week about the awful human rights abuses being committed by the Chinese government against the Uygurs and other Turkish Muslims, including some who call Australia home. I'll say it again: over one million people are being arbitrarily detained, some of them subjected to torture, with a terrifying surveillance state following every move. People are denied their rights to freedom of movement, privacy and freedom of religion, and all of this is occurring while the world watches. This was an opportunity for the government to back up some of the statements it has already made public, and it squibbed it. A statement from the Senate would have sent a powerful message to China that we don't accept the cultural genocide that is going on right now.