Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Pocock. First, Australia condemns the Iranian government's violent crackdown on its own people. We, along with others, call on Iran to protect and respect the rights of its citizens. The killing of protesters, the use of force, arbitrary arrests, the blackouts of telecommunications: all of these repressive measures must stop. I have said, and I say again, Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression.

We have taken strong action to hold the Iranian regime to account, and that action has included sanctions on some 200 Iran linked people and entities, including almost 100 IRGC linked individuals and entities. We have strengthened our sanctions framework in order to target those involved in oppression inside Iran, including against women and girls. Again, I publicly salute the courage of Iranian women and girls in particular. We were at the forefront of efforts to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, and we co-sponsored a successful Human Rights Council resolution at establishing an independent investigation into human rights violations.

I also want to talk about the role of Iran in our society. We will not allow Iran or any nation to undermine the safety of Australians, and we will not allow Iran or any nation to sew division in the Australian community. You will have seen we took unprecedented diplomatic action in response to the attacks on the Australian Jewish community— (Time expired)