Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the suffering of the ‘comfort women’ in the 1930s and 1940s was an appalling episode in Japan’s history and that of the Asia Pacific region, and that there can be no disputing the facts of what occurred and the pain that it caused to those affected,

(ii)

the position of successive Australian governments has been that the 1951 Peace Treaty, which Australia signed, firmly drew a line under the crimes committed by Japan before and during the Second World War, for which many Japanese were rightly tried, convicted and sentenced,

(iii)

Japan has made great progress since 1945 in recognising and atoning for its past actions, and for many decades has been a major contributor to international peace, security and development, including through the United Nations,

(iv)

the 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the ‘comfort women’ issue (the ‘Kono statement’) fully and officially acknowledged the complicity of the Japanese Government and military in the 1930s and 1940s in a coercive system of sexual slavery in occupied territories, and

(v)

the Kono statement has been reaffirmed by subsequent Japanese governments and prime ministers, including by Prime Minister Abe;

(b)

commends the Japanese people and Government for the steps they have taken so far to acknowledge and atone for Japan’s actions in the 1930s and 1940s; and

(c)

encourages the Japanese people and Government to take further steps to recognise the full history of their nation, to foster awareness in Japan of its actions in the 1930s and 1940s, including in relation to ‘comfort women’, and to continue dialogue with those affected by Japan’s past actions in a spirit of reconciliation.

Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move an amendment to the motion in the words as circulated in the chamber:

Omit all words after “That”, substitute “the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the suffering of the ‘comfort women’ in the 1930s and 1940s was an appalling episode in Japan’s history and that of the Asia Pacific region, and that there can be no disputing the facts of what occurred and the pain that it caused to those affected,

(ii)

the position of successive Australian governments has been that the 1951 Peace Treaty, which Australia signed, legally at the time of signing addressed the crimes committed by Japan before and during World War II, and

(iii)

the 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono officially acknowledged the Japanese Government’s findings, including its involvement in the comfort women system;

(b)

encourages the new Prime Minister of Japan to acknowledge and officially apologise to comfort women by introducing such a resolution in the Diet; and

(c)

encourages the Japanese Government to take further steps to recognise the full history of its nation, by taking historical responsibility and accurately teaching the history of comfort women in its schools.

Question put.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that the motion moved by Senator Payne be agreed to.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I indicate that Labor will be supporting the motion because it is at least a formal acknowledgement by the Australian Senate of the suffering of these comfort women. We recognise that the motion is not perfect, and we are extremely disappointed that the Howard government has not seen fit to heed the concerns of the Australian victims of these crimes and their supporters in drafting this motion. The Senate will recall that Labor moved a much stronger motion yesterday that had the support of this community, which the Howard government senators voted down.

Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The reason the Democrats put up an amendment to this motion is that it contains several errors which were pointed out by those women who are urging the Senate to make a statement with regard to comfort women. The first of those is that Japan, despite being a member of the UN, did not act on the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women in her report on comfort women published in 1994. Also, Japan has failed to recognise its breach of C29—that is, the convention against forced labour—through forcing comfort women into sexual slavery, despite the campaigning of the ILO by Korean survivors. Furthermore, in the 1970s, the Japanese government at the time buried the remains of proven war criminals sentenced at the Kyoto tribunal in the Yasukuni Shrine and has subsequently honoured them by prime ministerial visits.

The Kono statement in 1993 was an expression of personal remorse and not an official government statement, as stated by Australian survivor Jan Ruff O’Herne, and as academically and legally proven by expert doctor Mindy Kotler, Director of Asia Policy Point. Dr Kotler, who leads a team of international academics seeking a better understanding of Japan, said: ‘A definitive official government statement must fit one of four conditions.’ The reason we will not support this motion as it stands unamended is because it will actually do more harm than good.

Kerry Nettle (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—It is really important that the Japanese government are asked to make an apology for the treatment of comfort women in Japan during World War II. The Greens have been involved in the campaign with community groups in Australia and around the world, calling for an official apology from the Japanese government. We think it is extremely important that the Australian parliament pass a motion calling for an official apology from the Japanese government similar to what the US congress did last week, when it called for an official apology. That is what we support.

Question agreed to.