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

The military junta in Myanmar has committed horrific acts, including ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people since 2017, and indeed that violence continues. Forced from their home, separated from their loved ones, over a million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh and live in the largest refugee camp in the world, at Cox's Bazar. For nearly a decade, people have been stuck in that camp without full rights and without adequate support. It has been particularly devastating for women and girls.

As a member of the Rohingya community recently told my office, 'Every child born stateless, every woman assaulted on a boat, every family starving in a camp is a test of our collective humanity.' Australia and the world have failed to live up to their moral responsibility, and there must be increased aid funding. We must hold perpetrators of war crimes to account and, importantly, offer more Rohingya a permanent pathway to protection. As one mother said: 'We will return, but not as ghosts. We want to go home as people, with papers, safety and dignity.' Surely that is what all people deserve?

The final votes are being counted, but we know what the result will be. On behalf of the Australian Greens, I would like to congratulate Zohran Mamdani on his election as mayor of New York City. His campaign has been an inspiration to New Yorkers and progressive people around the world. Whether it's free buses, a rent freeze, universal free child care or city owned grocery stores, it is a vision shared by the Australian Greens. It's a blueprint for every city where working families are being priced out of their own communities. When we tax wealth and invest in people, everyone benefits—except the ultra-wealthy. But don't worry, they'll also be fine! It's time we stopped calling these policies 'impossible'; it's time we started calling them 'inevitable'.