Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the National Party, I rise to support the motion and honour the bravery and strength of the people of Ukraine, who continue to courageously fight a war not of their making—a war which President Putin expected to last just three days but which has now passed the one-year mark in duration. This illegal, unprovoked and unjust conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainians by Russian forces, according the UNHCR, with more than 7,000 civilians killed and 11,000 injured, including 177 girls and 221 young boys. The UNHCR reported in September last year that 12.3 million people had fled the Ukraine, while seven million had been displaced internally. That's 18 million Ukrainians that have left their homes. Many thousands more have been forcibly deported to Russia.

Historic cities that have taken hundreds of years to build now lie in ruins. Ukraine estimates that Russia has caused US$1 trillion worth of damage since the start of the full-scale invasion last February, and that it is not even allowing for the costs in Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, which were invaded in 2014. The Ukraine government has estimated that 150,000 residential buildings, 1,500 schools and 20,000 kilometres of roads have been destroyed. And Russia, in its indiscriminate attacks, has targeted hospitals, schools and energy supplies. Russia's blockade of the Black Sea ports is equal to economic blackmail with some of the world's poorest people now paying higher prices for food, energy and the very means to survive. In the areas liberated from Russian forces, Ukrainians have uncovered mass graves as well as evidence of rape and torture on an unimaginable scale.

It is President Putin who is responsible for this. He could stop it at once by withdrawing his forces from Ukrainian land, but he continues with his delusions of imperial grandeur and expansion. He blundered into a war that he cannot and will not win.

Ukrainians were always going to resist a hostile attack aimed at wiping out their country as Russia was warned that if they instigated the conflict Ukrainians would defend their homeland ferociously, and they have. Today, Ukrainians are more unified, proud and determined than ever, and the overreach of Russia has united the world in the common purpose of peace and to defend the principles of the UN Charter.

All Australians remain united and resolute in our support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Today, to be in the chamber and to hear the Labor government, the Liberal and National parties in coalition, the Greens and the independent senators stand as one, united in our support for Ukraine, is demonstration of what is occurring. This is a microcosm of what's actually occurred, particularly across Western democracies around the world.

We, as a nation, are doing our part in helping Ukraine fight this illegal war and abate the global economic impacts Russia has caused. It is the former coalition government that stood with Ukraine 12 months ago, offering substantial humanitarian, economic and social support, and that has been continued by today's Labor government, and we thank them for that. We played a major role in food supply and fuel for Europe and the wider economic community. We've donated 70,000 tons of thermal coal to support Ukraine's energy security. We've banned the import of Russian oil, petroleum, coal and gas, banned the export of alumina, bauxite and luxury goods to Russia, and introduced an additional tariff of 35 per cent on imports from Russia and Belarus. We will continue to provide bipartisan support to the Australian government to ensure we provide more military and humanitarian assistance.

Our former coalition government committed $285 million of defence military assistance, including 40 Bushmasters from my home state in Victoria, produced in Bendigo, and $65 million of the humanitarian assistance in Ukraine's fight for freedom. I'm proud to say that Bendigo Bushmasters have played a central role in Australia's military assistance.

This is a David and Goliath battle. As a middle power in the global order, Australia stood strong at the start, and I think it was particularly our efforts at the beginning of this war that—I don't think it was an assured assumption that everyone was going to come to the table 12 months ago—we stand as united, as the Western democracies in particular have, against the aggression of this illegal war. So, practically and philosophically, this nation stands with Ukraine. We stand for peace, but it's not peace at any price. The sovereignty of this nation matters, and we won't stop supporting them until they can be sovereign again and Vladimir Putin and the Russian forces are behind their own borders.