The Australian Greens condemn in the strongest terms the Chinese Government’s decision to formally indict Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun on espionage charges.

Leader of the Greens and foreign policy spokesperson Adam Bandt said the Australian Government had an important role to play in securing his freedom, and with charges now laid, the window of opportunity to get him free may be closing.

“The first duty of any government should be to keep its people safe, and while the government may be distracted, Dr Yang doesn’t have any time to spare,” Mr Bandt said.

Senators Di Natale and Faruqi: To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in India on 10 December 2019, which legalised the granting of Indian citizenship based on religion but specifically excluded muslims;

(b) expresses deep concern that the Indian Government has created the legal grounds to strip millions of muslims of the fundamental right of equal access to citizenship;

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

   (i) that 15 March 2020 will mark one year since the Christchurch massacre, when a racist, hate-filled and violent white supremacist man from Australia killed 51 Muslims during Friday prayers at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand,

   (ii) that the anniversary of Christchurch is a painful reminder to Muslims in Australia, New Zealand and across the world that anti-Muslim racism and white supremacy has fatal consequences,

Millions of Kashmiris are still under undeclared curfew. Free speech is being suppressed, with an internet blackout still in place, communications being monitored and journalists being intimidated. The human rights situation in Kashmir has drawn comparisons with Palestine. Kashmiris were not allowed to determine their fate when the British drew their arbitrary borders and have not been allowed to do so since. Self-interest and nationalistic rhetoric will never deliver justice to the people of Kashmir, who have suffered enough. Self-determination by the Kashmiri people is the only answer.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt will join former Greens Leader Richard Di Natale in wearing a West Papuan lapel flag during the address of Indonesian President Widodo to the Australian Parliament on Monday. West Papuan human rights advocate Ronny Kareni will also be a guest of Senator Di Natale at the address. Mr Kareni is a member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua and is a longstanding campaigner for West Papuan human rights.

The Australian Greens today condemned US President Donald Trump’s blatantly unfair “peace” proposal for Israel and Palestine, which would instead further entrench injustice and conflict in the Middle East.
 
“This proposal is not worth the paper it’s written on. It fails to provide the minimum requirement for a Palestinian State and rewards breaches of international law like the Israeli Government’s flagrant settlement building,” said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.
 

The Australian Greens will move amendments to the Customs Amendment (Growing Australian Export Opportunities Across the Asia-Pacific) Bill 2019 to increase the transparency of trade negotiations, exclude Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) provisions and ensure that protecting human rights, workers and our environment is at the heart of how Australia engages with our region, and the world.

I ask that general business notice of motion No. 238 standing in my name for today, relating to Kashmir, be taken as a formal motion.

The PRESIDENT: Is there any objection to this motion being taken as formal? There is, Senator Faruqi.

Senator FARUQI: In lieu of suspending standing orders, I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale has once again called upon the Australian Government to intervene to ensure that Julian Assange is not extradited to the United States, following comments from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that Assange is showing acute signs of exposure to psychological torture.

“We have all seen the serious deterioration in Julian Assange’s health at his recent court appearances, and now the UN Special Rapporteur has warned that his life is at risk. This situation cannot be allowed to continue," Di Natale said.

The Australian Greens support the Kashmiri community on 27 October as they commemorate Black Day.  Kashmir is a disputed territory and it is now almost three months since the Indian Government decided to revoke its special status and further erode Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.