Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that general business notice of motion No. 699 standing in my name for today, relating to Cambodia, be taken as a formal motion.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there any objection to motion being taken as formal?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy President, in lieu of suspending standing orders, I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

Leave granted.

This is a straightforward motion that goes to the very heart of democracy in our region. Once again we see the government blocking the will of the Senate in refusing to allow us the chance to vote on this important motion.

Cambodia's democracy is crumbling before our very eyes. Its Prime Minister, Hun Sen, is eliminating opposition and civil society before he faces the next election. If we were to put this in the Australian context, it would be the equivalent of the Prime Minister exiling Bill Shorten and throwing Tanya Plibersek in jail, and then the High Court dissolving the Labor Party and banning every MP from politics. That's what's going on in Cambodia right now and, as their neighbour, Australia must offer Cambodian victims of the crackdown our support. We should implement targeted sanctions against Hun Sen's government and revoke his invitation to Australia next month. I urge the government to stand up for democracy in the region.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave not granted.

I table my statement.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor has a strong history in leading efforts for peace and democracy in Cambodia. Under Labor, Australia was a party to the 1991 Paris peace accords aimed at ending conflict in Cambodia, and we agree with the vision for a democratic political system with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans was the architect of this peace process, and Australia's John Sanderson led the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, which supervised free elections in which 90 per cent of the population voted.

Labor expresses concern with the dismantling of independent voices and political opposition in Cambodia. It is incredibly disappointing that the Australian Greens did not accept Labor's proposed amendments to two subparagraphs in this motion, which would have enabled it to be supported. Labor urges the government to continue to voice Australia's concerns about the undermining of Cambodia's democracy and ensure these matters covered by this motion are raised with the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, when he attends the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to be held in Sydney in March.