Rhiannon, Sen Lee

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (00:25): I seek leave to speak for 20 minutes. Leave granted. Senator RHIANNON: For Tamils all around the world, including in Sri Lanka, 27 November marks a very important and hauntingly sad day. In Tamil the day is known as Maaveerar Naal. Veerar means 'warrior' or 'hero'; Maa means 'great'; and Naal means 'day'. It is a day on which millions of Tamils will remember the hundreds and thousands of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children and the elderly who sacrificed their life in the 26-year-long struggle for their freedom. Last year on this day I joined around 2,000 Tamils in Sydney's west to pay respect to the courage, strength and sacrifice of the Tamil people. The overwhelming distress and pain of the Tamil community as they stood in line to lay down a flower in respect for the fallen was a piercing emotional experience for me. I am in parliament today so I will not be able to join the community, but I still stand beside them as their friend on this significant day. I have come to know the Tamil community in Sydney intimately and I know that their grief and feeling of betrayal by the international community, world leaders, and the United Nations is still very raw. These emotions are perpetuated by the discrimination and brutality the Tamils continue to face at the hands of the Sri Lankan government, including the sexual abuse and exploitation of women, imprisonment, land grabs, torture, assassinations and kidnappings. Australia's continuing 'friendly' relations with Sri Lanka in order to stop Tamils from fleeing their country is a matter of despair. The Australian government and opposition's discriminatory views and actions towards Tamil asylum seekers who do manage to make the dangerous journey here is shameful. The recent assassination in France of a French Tamil community leader is an example of the ongoing challenges that the diaspora Tamils face. Over the weekend, thousands of Tamils across France and Europe gathered in Paris to pay their respects to Mr Nadarajah, also known as Parithi, who was murdered on 8 November. It is alleged that his killing was orchestrated by Sri Lankan government officials. When investigating these crimes I trust that the French authorities will be thorough and transparent with any information that may indicate it was a political assassination. At the service, there were community representatives from Australia, Canada and New Zealand. French politicians were reportedly present. The mass attendance and the state-like ceremony that was performed reflects the commitment and resolve of the Tamils. Amidst their show of communal grief, they have once again sent a powerful message to the international community that they will not be silenced in their work to achieve a war crimes investigation and justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka. A few weeks ago the UN made international headlines when a leaked internal UN report prepared by Charles Petrie concluded that various UN agencies had failed to meet their responsibilities in the last months of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The report concluded that 'events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN'. Writing for Canada's Globe and Mail on 19 November, Frances Harrison, a former BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka and author of Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka's Hidden War, stated: ... the latest UN report documents how UN staff members were in possession of reliable information that showed that the Sri Lankan government was responsible for the majority of deaths. And that two-thirds of the killings were inside safe zones unilaterally declared by the Sri Lankan government purportedly to protect civilians. This was information senior UN managers decided not to share with diplomats when they briefed them. The BBC reported that the Petrie report points out that in Colombo 'many senior UN staff did not perceive the prevention of killing of civilians as their responsibility, and agency and department heads at UNHQ were not instructing them otherwise' and that there was 'a continued reluctance' among UN personnel in Sri Lanka 'to stand up for the rights of people they were mandated to assist'. The report also talks about the UN's reluctance to publish casualty figures. During the war, the UN maintained a figure of about 8,000 Tamil deaths. After the war, a former UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka, Gordon Weiss, put this figure as high as 40,000. The Petrie report says that 'credible information' indicates 'that over 70,000 people are unaccounted for'. Dr Sam Pari, spokesperson for the Australian Tamil Congress, says Tamil church leaders and civil society, using census statistics, have calculated the death toll to be 146,679. Against this figure of 146,679 Tamil deaths, the UN estimation of 8,000 is an insult. Even a possible 70,000 figure is hard to trust. So, three years on, we still have no agreed figure of how many men, women, children and elderly were killed in the first five months of 2009. What this internal review has revealed is nothing new. All throughout the final months of the war, Tamils all over the world pleaded with international leaders to take notice of the massacre taking place in Sri Lanka. Thousands of Tamils continuously took to the streets in India, Australia, Canada, US, Malaysia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany and France. In Britain an unprecedented 300,000 Tamils closed off Parliament Square crying out for a ceasefire. Numerous young Tamils were on hunger strike, and in India young men burnt themselves alive, unable to bear the news of what was happening to their brothers and sisters. In a blog post on 15 November, former UN spokesperson, Gordon Weiss, said: … Sri Lanka pulled off one of the nastiest episodes of mass killing since the Rwandan genocide - and got away with it. He went on to say: Despite a clear advantage over the near-vanquished rebels, the army bombed packed hospitals, used starvation tactics, executed civilian captives, raped and killed female guerrillas and corralled women and children into "safe zones" before shelling them. When that was done, it interrogated and then killed the Tamil Tiger political and military leadership, along with their families. I find it hard to believe that Western governments did not know what was going on. It has been confirmed that the UN certainly did know. While there were diplomatic efforts by some European leaders, the overall efforts were minimal. I congratulate the aid workers, Tamil doctors, priests, Tamil net journalists and diaspora Tamils who stayed in the conflict zone and did everything they could to make the world listen. Many died. Today, I will remember them on Maaveerar Naal. In responding to the leaked UN internal review, UN chief, Ban Ki-Moon, said in a statement: … I am determined that the United Nations draws the appropriate lessons and does its utmost to earn the confidence of the world's people, especially those caught in conflict who look to the Organization for help. I welcome Mr Ban's statement. It is important to hear that the UN is determined to draw the appropriate lessons. Mr Ban has said he will organise a senior-level team to provide him with careful consideration of the recommendations and advise on a step forward. It is a step in the right direction, but we have to acknowledge that it is a very small step. Many feel it is too late. My concern with Mr Ban's statement is what he omitted: will anyone in the UN be held responsible? In his blog, Gordon Weiss speaks of an incident during the war when Australian UN humanitarian worker, James Elder, warned that children were being killed and a Sri Lankan government official accused him of supporting terrorists. The government expelled Elder. That government official, Palitha Kohona, is now Sri Lanka's representative at the UN. His deputy is a former general accused of mass killing during the war. Is Palitha Kohona going to be held accountable? And what about Vijay Nambiar, who was Mr Ban's then chef de cabinet? Writing for The Huffington Post on 16 November, Frances Harrison says Mr Nambiar implored the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to dilute her statement when she wanted to speak about potential war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. Will Mr Ban do anything about him? And what about a war crimes investigation? Will Mr Ban take the necessary steps to appoint an independent war crimes investigation to set the record straight? And will member states give him the backing that he needs? The Australian government has maintained a complicit silence regarding the Rajapaksa regime and the allegations of war crimes against it, and it continues to give a former navy official during the war—Thisara Samarasinghe—diplomatic immunity in Canberra. I note here a sentence from page 28 of the Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka: From as early as 6 February 2009, the SLA— the Sri Lankan Army— continuously shelled within the area that became the second NFZ— no fire zone— from all directions, including land, air and sea. The failure of the Australian government and other Western governments to take decisive actions, such as adding their support to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's call to boycott CHOGM if it is held in Sri Lanka in 2013, adds to the pain and anguish that so many Tamils and their supporters feel, particularly on a day as important as today. I congratulate all those who are working to ensure that there will be a war crimes investigation. As 27 November dawns around the world, I acknowledge the grief and courage of Tamils who gather together to remember and reflect on the enormity of the lives lost. I repeat the call that crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Sri Lanka must be independently investigated. On another matter, Australia's coal export industry delivers dangerous climate change to the world. It also presents dangers at home. In the New South Wales Hunter Valley there is a growing awareness that living alongside the coal industry is bad for your health. A community campaign to oppose the fourth coal export terminal being built at Newcastle Harbour is gaining momentum because Hunter residents have become united by a common cause: they are sick of coal. CTAG is a coalition of 16 Hunter based community groups who oppose the fourth coal loader development proposal, which is known as T4, which is being constructed in Newcastle harbour. A chief concern for CTAG is high levels of coal dust in Newcastle and across the Hunter from an increased number of coal wagons moving through the region and the further expansion of coal mines. They are also concerned about the many negative environmental impacts of the T4 proposal. It is well known that each year many hundreds of coal ships make the long journey to export coal from Australia to Japan and Korea. What is less known is the reciprocal journey that thousands of migratory birds make each year, flying from Northern Asia to Australia to nest, breed, forage and fatten up in the unique wetland environment of the Hunter estuary, in the heart of Australia's largest coal-exporting port at Newcastle harbour. The Hunter Bird Observers Club has expertly and thoroughly documented their concerns that the proposed T4, if built, would permanently destroy a key element of the wetland ecosystem of the Hunter estuary and the Hunter Wetlands National Park. Two wetland sites, Deep Pond on Kooragang Island and Swan Pond on Ash Island, will be destroyed if T4 goes ahead. Unfortunately these two sites lie just outside two RAMSAR listed wetlands. The Hunter Wetlands National Park received RAMSAR listing in 1984, and the nearby Hunter Wetlands Centre was listed with RAMSAR in 2002. Despite the important role they play in the wetland ecosystem, Deep Pond and Swan Pond were not listed, nor were they gazetted by the New South Wales government as part of the national park. The New South Wales government has now rezoned land on Ash Island to pave the way for the fourth coal loader to proceed. The federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Mr Tony Burke, has the final say in this. He can save these key wetland sites in the Hunter estuary and honour the Australian government's commitment under international agreements with China, Korea and Japan to protect migratory shorebird populations. These wetland areas, Deep Pond and Swan Pond, under threat of destruction are invaluable. They form a complex and densely interwoven ecosystem, with an extremely rare combination of near-natural wetlands, made up of coastal mangrove, melaleuca swamp forest and freshwater reed marshes, with artificial wetlands such as freshwater lagoons and ponds. Together they form a unique haven for the 112 species of waterbirds and 45 species of international migratory shorebirds they nurture, such as the endangered Australasian bittern and other threatened and vulnerable species like the green and golden bell frog and the estuary stingray. They combine both tidal seawater and brackish freshwater ponds, making them highly significant as both feeding and roosting sites for migratory shorebirds, often at critical stages of their life cycles, and providing refuge in times of inland droughts. Much of the Hunter wetlands have already suffered from the existing coal port operations, whittled away through reclamation, infilling and dredging and degraded by pollution. When freshwater swamps were lost to development, one of the last remaining lakes, Deep Pond, became a pivotal watering ground for birds and animals alike. Its freshwater flats now provide essential roosting and feeding grounds for a great many local, international and threatened species. These wetlands are internationally recognised as being a most important destination in New South Wales for international migratory shorebirds using the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. They have suffered a 'death by a thousand subdivisions' and are also threatened by changes in tidal range due to dredging to accommodate bigger and bigger coal ships, and changes in the freshwater and saltwater balance. There is increased contamination of these ecosystems by the constant passage of coal trains and the subsequent coal handling and loading. If the annual throughput of coal to the port of Newcastle reaches the predicted 330 million tonnes in 2022, an estimated 37 tonnes of coal dust would be emitted per kilometre every year from loaded train movements, all of which would pass through this area. Like so much of the rich biodiversity in the Hunter region, these magnificent wetlands are being forsaken for vested corporate interests. It is so important that we preserve what remaining habitat we have for these migratory shorebirds. I urge the environment minister to offer the highest level of protection available to the Hunter estuary, including Deep Pond and Swan Pond and its migratory bird populations. On another matter, tonight I wish to pay tribute to Andrew Hewett. Andrew is resigning as Oxfam executive director. I congratulate Andrew for his tremendous contribution to overseas development. What I have admired in Andrew's work, since I met him in the early nineties, is his commitment to involve in decision making, at both ends of development, the people who are the recipient of Australia's aid and those who campaign and advocate in Australia for a more humane and environmentally appropriate overseas aid program. People matter to Andrew. When you talk with him about the many projects he is driving, about his strategic plans for Oxfam, about campaigning to influence government policy, Andrew is brimming with ideas on how to create meaningful involvement of communities and people wherever they live, whatever their abilities. I first met Andrew when I worked with Aid/Watch in the early 1990s and Andrew was establishing Oxfam's advocacy and campaigning program. In Australia's vibrant overseas aid community, Andrew has been a leading light with over two decades working with one of the world's leading aid bodies, Oxfam. Andrew has done the heavy lifting too in delivering aid projects. He coordinated Oxfam's international response to the 1990 Timor-Leste crisis and worked on the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and the recent African food crises. Since 2001, Andrew has been Oxfam's executive director. He is on the board of ACFID, the peak council of non-government overseas development agencies, co-chair of the Make Poverty History coalition, and a member of the Oxfam international board. Andrew clearly has a talent for organising and motivating people and those skills have been honed over a lifetime of work taking on injustice. When Andrew was at school, he helped for a secondary student union. He stood with his teachers when they staged a five-week strike and spoke out publicly in support of those teachers, giving what was probably his first TV interview. After school his activism continued as an organiser with the Australian Union of Students, and later in a similar role with People for Nuclear Disarmament, where he organised two of the massive Palm Sunday rallies that brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets in Melbourne and around the nation in a united call to end the nuclear arms build-up. Andrew's bent for a creative approach shone in one of his most challenging jobs—organising for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at Barrow-in-Furness in north-west England, where a third of the workforce was employed building Trident nuclear submarines. Andrew worked with the local trade unions and workers to develop a committee to find alternative employment. I congratulate Andrew for what he has brought to overseas development in terms of delivery, policy and building campaigning experience in Australia. I have particularly admired his commitment to members of Oxfam. He never lost sight of the fact that these are the people he works for. (Time expired)