Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

We so often hear the cost of war reduced to the talking points of the war parties, detached from reality and stripped of humanity. They seek to defend the indefensible—shredding international law, with blatant breaches of international law. Men in suits talk up the weapons being deployed. Their strategic narratives are tweaked. These are the things that dominate the headlines and too often dominate debate in this chamber.

But, for most people sitting at home, these things feel disconnected. What is too often pushed aside is the human cost of war. It is babies, children and women. It's families. While commentators debate markets and economics, parents are sifting through rubble in anguish. While analysts discuss alliances and strategy, mothers are burying their children. Reports indicate that more than 1,000 civilians have already been killed in the illegal war in Iran, among them more than 150 schoolgirls. A parent should never have to endure the horror of identifying their child beneath the rubble of an air strike. This is what war does. It kills people who had no say in the decisions made in war rooms thousands of kilometres away. While families bury their children, others are counting their profits. From Washington to Tel Aviv—and, yes, here in Canberra—there are those who profit from this violence: gas companies watching prices surge and weapons manufacturers signing new contracts. That is the brutal truth of war—some people making money while others count the loss of family lives.

Today, instead of stepping away from this violence, Australia is striding into it further, sending military personnel, a surveillance aircraft and missiles to the gulf, and dragging Australia deeper into Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war. At the same time, the government is moving to shut the door on people fleeing that violence, with a bill clearly aimed at people from Iran seeking safety here. Shame on you! The killing of a single child should stop us in our trucks. Human lives must never be reduced to collateral damage.