Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (11:06): I rise to support the words of the Prime Minister this morning, and I thank him for the conversations we have had this morning. This news that we woke up to this morning is worse than shocking; it is debilitating and bewildering, with bewildering losses. Travelling at six miles height, this is unimaginable. This is a violation of the rules of civilisation. It is a tyrannical, wild act. And I appreciate that when I rang the Prime Minister this morning he was most forthcoming and, in a time when international events require one to put aside partisan issues, I greatly appreciate it. I acknowledge too foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and my colleague Tanya Plibersek, who have also been working on this. As the parliament convenes right now and throughout the day, there will be anxious families having their worst fears confirmed. Three kilometres from the town of Grabovo, near the Russian-Ukrainian border, on a patch of disputed ground currently controlled by separatist terrorists lies the scattered ruin of MH17. Two hundred and ninety-eight innocent people have lost their lives in sudden, unspeakable circumstances. When I spoke to the Ukrainian Charge D'affaires to Australia, he said he believed a surface-to-air missile had shot down the plane. But most tragically amongst this terrible news, there are at least 27 Australians who have been murdered: mothers and fathers; brothers and sisters; neighbours, colleagues, classmates and teammates. There are Australians who would have planned to be at the airport tomorrow night to collect friends and family, amongst them some of the world's leading AIDS experts. The cost of this will be felt in many parts of the world. We grieve for all of them. This does reach beyond Australian shores. I spoke this morning with the ambassador from the Netherlands and conveyed my sympathies for her country's terrible losses. One hundred and fifty-four Dutch nationals were on this flight, including, as I mentioned, world-renowned researchers and the former president of the International AIDS Society Dr Joep Lange. This flight is one of the most popular flights between Amsterdam and Melbourne and Sydney, via Kuala Lumpur. Undoubtedly many of the Dutch nationals on this plane were coming to visit friends and possibly Australian family in Australia. In Afghanistan, Australia and the Netherlands stood united in their courage for the service of peace; today our countries are embraced in a shared grief. I have also spoken with the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia, whose country is reeling from this sudden blow. It is truly a tragic day in a tragic year for Malaysia. For the people of Ukraine, this is another terrible chapter in a conflict that has already come at a most terrible human cost. In Australia, we are immune and protected from much of the conflict in the world, and for that we should be thankful, but on recent estimates more than 500 people have already died—civilians and Ukrainian soldiers—in the conflict in the Donbas region in the last weeks and months. This horrific situation can seem far removed from our daily lives, but there is no question that the conflict in this disputed part of the Ukraine has now reached Australia. The missile that brought down MH17 and the missiles that have claimed numerous Ukrainian aircraft could not possibly be made by the people who possibly fired them. These separatist terrorists are obtaining these instruments of murder from elsewhere. This must be investigated and it must be stopped. The Ukrainian Charge d'Affaires informed me this morning that they will be inviting experts from around the world to assist with investigating this matter. Labor most certainly supports the comments of the Prime Minister with regard to the United Nations Security Council. And Labor supports the chorus internationally calling for a full, independent, international investigation of this tragedy. This is a time for national unity. As the Prime Minister discussed with me this morning, it is a time for temperate responses, cool heads and measured action. That is, indeed, the strongest possible response that Australians expect from us, but it also demands, as I believe the Prime Minister was saying, strong resolve. I say this to the Prime Minister today: Labor understands the complexity and the difficulty of the decisions that you will face. We understand that, as people are working through the pain and the grief, there will be many understandable calls for all sorts of action. I say that Labor is prepared to support the government and will cooperate with the Prime Minister and the government on what is the right next step to be taken in this most bewildering and shocking event. Whether or not that involves anything to do with the G20, we say to the government: we will work with your measured approach. More generally, in relation to the situation in the Ukraine, Russia carries a significant and central responsibility in helping manage this crisis and resolving the dispute peacefully. We will support the government in vigorously pursuing and asserting this position in our position at the United Nations Security Council and in representations to the Russian government. Today the parliament mourns the loss of all on MH17. We pay tribute to their memory. We are conscious that there are members of our Australian community who do not yet know what has happened to people they love. And we renew our commitment to a safe and more peaceful world. The SPEAKER: Normally, we only hear from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Without creating a precedent, this morning I am going to give the call to the member for Melbourne to make a short statement.