Motion - Condemnation of Russian Aggression in Ukraine

Wednesday 22 March 2023

[3.42 p.m.]

Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I will speak briefly on this motion as those who have already spoken have spoken so sincerely on this issue and made such heartfelt contributions.

I thank the Leader for bringing this motion forward and also acknowledge the Australian and the Tasmanian Ukrainian community.

I add my voice to all others in support of Ukraine and condemn entirely the actions taken by those who seek to deprive Ukrainians of their safety and their sovereignty.

We recently observed the one-year mark since this current conflict began.  I reflect on the lives that have been lost and irrevocably changed in that time.  I know the Ukrainian diaspora here and elsewhere in Australia are hurting at this time and I want be entirely clear I stand with them, share their pain and will strive to do everything I can to ensure they are supported as much as possible.

I attended a rally last year, and it was so sad to listen and talk to the people who had actually come from Ukraine.  Most of them did not speak very much English and Simon Richardson from Richardson's Harley-Davidson, had actually been over and had hosted this and was helping.  Simon is part Ukrainian.  To hear the stories from those people and the terrible atrocities they had witnessed and heard from their families was heartbreaking.

We are truly so fortunate here in Australia that we have such comparative peace and prosperity, that our children can go to school to learn and live normal lives.  That we do have access to social support, health care and education, and that we are not having to literally fight for our freedom.

It is easy to treat the experiences of the Ukrainian people as abstract or academic.  However, these people are truly picking up weapons and fighting.  The vulnerable are being targeted, maimed and killed.  Prisoners of war are being taken and properties being destroyed by a hostile invading force.

The actions taken by people who themselves are far away from the conflict, in many cases in offices in Moscow, by people who are not themselves fighting, need to be characterised for what they are: they are illegal, unwarranted and in violation of the conventions which the global community have put in place precisely to avoid conflicts like these and the loss of life that comes with them.

An assault on one democratic country is an assault on all of us.  What is important now is showing solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainians who live in our community.

Mr President, I thank the Leader for bringing this motion to the Chamber.  I add my own voice to all the others who empathetically support the Ukrainian people, and condemn the aggressive action which harms global peace, security and prosperity.