2024-10-04
By David Shoebridge
Senator for New South Wales
Almost 12 months in the shadow of the horrific genocide in Gaza the Greens have been a key voice for justice and peace, and have forged deep bonds with communities we are standing in solidarity with.
Earlier this year our office took responsibility for the Immigration, Migration and Citizenship portfolio for the Greens and continued the party’s strong legacy in this work campaigning for a system based on human rights, decency and fairness.
Julian Assange is now free! Whistleblower reforms must follow
On June 26th 2024 Julian Assange was finally released after 5 years in Belmarsh prison with a plea deal. We then saw him return home to finally be with his family. This was a moment that our team, and millions more around the world, will never forget.
The Greens have long campaigned for Julian’s freedom as well as that of all journalists and whistleblowers unfairly imprisoned. The work done by my colleagues including Peter Whish-Wilson, Nick McKim and Scott Ludlam to advocate for Julian’s return was critically important.
We have deep concerns that this could happen again. While the Albanese Government engaged in diplomacy to return Julian home, it is clear neither major party is ever willing to jeopardise the “special relationship” Australia has with the United States. This leaves our citizens and those of the world at ongoing risk of US overreach.
While Julian is finally free David McBride, who blew the whistle on war crimes in Afghanistan, is in jail. I have visited David in jail in Canberra and I know the support of the community continues to bring him strength. Tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle is also facing court with a possible prison sentence awaiting him too.
We need a Government prepared to put principle before self-interest to protect Australian journalists and whistleblowers here at home and abroad.
As Greens we will keep pushing laws that protect whistleblowers, for the dropping of obsolete secrecy offences and to finally create a whistleblower commission that puts truth before power.
Refugees are welcome here, racism is not
As the holder of the immigration portfolio I have worked with communities across Australia to block Labor’s anti-refugee, travel ban Bill. This Trumpian-style legislation would have banned people from coming to Australia depending on their country of origin. There’s just one word for that: racist!
Once again the Greens are a critical voice opposing the dangerous race to the bottom between Labor and the Coalition based on demonising and dehumanising refugees.
We have called out Labor’s outrageous track record of routinely rejecting immigrants’ visas on the basis of their medical needs. Children being threatened with removal from the country they were born in because they have a disability is everything wrong with the Liberal and ALP approach to immigration.
We have also exposed the horrendous treatment of people fleeing the genocide in Gaza who are overwhelmingly likely to have their applications to seek refuge in Australia refused (because they are not tourists!). The Government knows this is happening and refuses to intervene.
Australia could be showing great humanitarian leadership and saving thousands of lives of the sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers of Palestinian people already in Australia but once again the Albanese Government is failing the people.
Standing against the warmongering of AUKUS 2.0 and nuclear submarines
The Albanese Government has continued to push ahead with the Coalition’s flawed AUKUS agreement including plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on nuclear submarines.
We have so far managed to stall the legislation they proposed to allow anywhere in Australia to be declared a nuclear waste storage facility including for waste that is generated by UK and the US nuclear submarines. We have worked with First Nations communities and peace activists around Australia including particularly in the Illawarra, Adelaide and Perth to oppose Labor’s plans to make them nuclear targets or nuclear dumps.
A powerful and growing peace movement is walking hand in hand with those taking the fight directly to weapons manufacturers and those who support them. We are being the voice for millions of Australians who want to see an immediate two way arms embargo on any state that is committing a genocide, and that starts with Israel.
Whether it’s campaigning against Labor buying a billion dollars of weapons from Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems’ while it is directly complicit in the war in Gaza, opposing universities investing in global weapons companies or highlighting the dangers in the bizarre and dangerous gamble with AUKUS, we are alongside communities, working with protesters and activists, to build the peace and anti-nuclear movement. Thanks so much for joining with us.
Digital safety and AI
This year saw the introduction of legislation to create Digital ID - a system that will reduce the risks of data breaches of private information and make us safer online. We worked hard to get greater privacy protections in the laws and to ensure the system is truly voluntary and by doing so pushed the Government to deliver a much better scheme. We will continue to monitor its rollout and impacts.
We have also been key to the Senate inquiry into the adoption of AI and are working for critical recommendations to protect privacy and personal security and to limit environmental impacts of this technology. The impacts on copyright and personal information of this technology crawling the internet and being fed data by corporations are very real and we’re pushing for laws to catch up and finally start regulating the sector. If we can stop deepfakes stealing the next federal election while we are at it, we will do that too!
Working with communities
Our community campaigning and organising has continued with a strong focus on Western Sydney this year.
This has included work with the Palestinian, Lebanese and other communities concerned about the genocide in Gaza. The rise in attacks against these communities including police violence and political targeting is a real concern.
We have worked with the Bangladeshi community particularly during the violence targeted at student protesters who ousted their repressive government.
The Kurdish and Iranian communities continue to advocate for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. In June this year pressure from around the world led to the overturning of the death sentence against Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi who our office continues to politically sponsor and support.
As the Sikh and Tamil communities continue to face persecution and human rights violations, we have worked with them to advocate for justice, protection and self determination.
We continue to work with the West Papuan community to expose the horrific treatment they are facing right now including ongoing state violence and repression.
Investing in community organising has been particularly important for our team in this time of global conflict and division sown by those in power here and overseas. Communities can rely on the Greens for solidarity and consistent support on matters of human rights, political repression and freedom of movement.
It is a privilege to be a Greens Senator and to represent NSW. The work my office does is a truly collaborative effort between Greens members, diverse communities and my incredible team. I want to thank each of Kym, Nicola, Kilty, Olivia, Harriet, Bella, Sam, Baran, Larissa, Taylor and Gigi for their comradeship in this work that we are so lucky to do together.
- David