David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion relating to the proposed Australian military deployment to the Middle East as circulated.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice, standing in the name of Senator Waters, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving a motion to provide for the consideration of the matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to the proposed Australian military deployment to the Middle East.

The motion that the Greens are bringing to this house—no doubt, it will be opposed by the three war parties: Labor, the coalition and One Nation—is:

That the Senate:

(a) notes that the Australian public rejects Labor's push to be part of another US-led forever war in the Middle East, which has already seen thousands of civilians injured and killed and the world spiralling into economic chaos and even greater insecurity; and

(b) calls on the Government to immediately end support for the US and Israeli war with Iran, withdraw all Australian troops from the US military, prohibit the US from using Australian-based military assets, and not send any Australian troops to the region to participate in this illegal war.

I know that there will be resistance to this. The government say that they desperately think that they should get onto the 'Transitional amendments No. 4 Defence veterans bill' or that some other thing is more urgent than this motion, but I can tell you now that the Australian public are watching in horror as Labor drags them into another US forever war. Labor is doing it with the support from the other two war parties in here—the coalition and One Nation. Between you, you've never seen a US war you didn't want to back in. You've never seen a demand from Donald Trump that you haven't wanted to bend over to grant—whenever he asks! If it's 2 am in the morning—whenever he asks!

We have, today, in just one week, seen how this war has escalated—the economic chaos and the killings. This war started in the first 24 hours with a US strike on a school that killed over 100 Iranian schoolgirls and their teachers. It was a devastating strike. We see Donald Trump spinning and lying and trying to pretend that it wasn't him—the disinformation campaign. A war that started with the US killing of schoolgirls has now expanded across the region. Millions of civilians, desperate about whether they will survive the next 24 hours—and the people of Iran, who were already fearful of their regime, are now fearful of the regime and the US and Israeli bombs and missiles that are also killing them.

What does our government do? Labor was the first government on the planet to rush out and support Donald Trump's illegal wars, and then Labor said it wouldn't send troops. What do we get today? After some messaging on the weekend, today we get the Prime Minister coming out and saying that not only will Australian troops be embedded throughout the US military, in nuclear submarines and others, but today we're sending military personnel into the region and an AEW&C RAAF plane. Missiles are being redirected, Australian troops are being put on the ground. Let's be clear what this is about. It's not about defending anyone. It's not about keeping the people of Iran safe. It's not about keeping the people of the United Arab Emirates safe. It's not about safety or defence. Every military asset we send into the region is designed to free up another US military asset to be used to kill people in Iran. That's what's happening here.

The Prime Minister came out today and said that he made these decisions. Let's be clear on where these decisions are made. They're made in Washington and they're operationalised in Canberra. As I understand it, the missiles being redirected from Australia wasn't even Australia's choice; it was United States telling the US weapons manufacturers that they had to redirect it, and the Australian government are pretending it was their decision. Every time we see this: Labor, the coalition and One Nation—the three war parties—asking Donald Trump what they can do next.

This war is spiralling into evermore economic chaos. Energy prices are rising. Economic markets are in chaos. Why did this happen? This happened because the world was silent again when the United States decided that international law and common rules of decency don't apply to them.

What was worse than silence from the Australian government was that they actively backed in this war. They now own the violence, the killing and the disruption that comes from it. Why on Earth are we sending Australian troops into the Middle East at this point? We get told that it's about defence. We get told that it's to protect the United Arab Emirates. Let us be clear this is not in Australia's national interest. Australia does not have an alliance with the United Arab Emirates. We don't have key trade arrangements with the United Arab Emirates. The only reason we're sending troops there is Washington has told us to—to free up US military assets to continue the US and Israel's illegal war against Iran. The doublespeak and hypocrisy that are coming from this government are obscene. I'm proud to be in the Greens, the only party standing up against the war parties in this chamber.