Ms GILLARD (Prime Minister) (2:00 PM) —On indulgence, I seek to give the House an update on events in Libya. The Australian government is greatly concerned about the deteriorating situation in Libya. The Gaddafi regime has lost all legitimacy, yet clings to power. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of brave Libyans have been killed. Colonel Gaddafi seems determined to plunge his country into civil war and chaos. The international community must do all it can to prevent further bloodshed.

Australia was one of the first countries to announce autonomous sanctions against Libya. These included travel bans and financial sanctions against Gaddafi and key members of his regime. On the weekend the United Nations Security Council acted swiftly and decisively against Gaddafi. Tough international sanctions were put in place, sanctions that every member of the UN is obliged to impose—travel bans, financial sanctions and an arms embargo—as well as a request for action by the International Criminal Court to ensure that Gaddafi and those around him are held accountable for their actions. Today the United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Libya from the Human Rights Council. We welcome this decision, the first time the General Assembly has decided to suspend a country from the council. No other decision was conceivable.

Now we must keep the pressure up. Australia is calling for the Security Council to consider a no-fly zone over Libya. This would stop Gaddafi from launching his air force to attack protesters and the cities in which opposition forces have control. We urge the Security Council to consider this measure to protect the people of Libya.

Australia is also gravely concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation on Libya’s borders. More than 150,000 people, many of them migrant workers, have fled to these borders where they are camped with little shelter, food or water in bitterly cold conditions. The international community must respond quickly to help these people. Australia stands ready to assist and that is why we have made an immediate contribution of $1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Australia will also provide an additional $5 million to UN agencies responding to this crisis including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Children’s Fund. Australia will also provide a team of disaster relief experts to assist UN agencies to respond to the crisis.

Throughout this crisis, keeping Australians safe and helping them to leave Libya has been the government’s highest priority. I want to be frank with members: this has been extremely challenging. I can well understand the frustration and fear Australians caught in Libya would have felt. Our single representative in Tripoli, our Consul-General Tom Yates, has done a great job in extremely difficult circumstances and dangerous conditions a long way from home. I thank him for his efforts and I am sure the House would join me in that thanks. More than 100 Australians have departed Libya since the crisis began. On the weekend we made the difficult decision to withdraw Mr Yates and two other officers who had been flown in from Egypt to help. We could no longer guarantee their safety. The United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom have also withdrawn their diplomatic staff.

But we continue to remain in contact with the small number of Australians still in Libya. We are working closely with our consular partners to identify all evacuation options including ferries which are still departing. I would like to thank the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada for their offers of assistance to evacuate our diplomats and Australians from Libya. I would also like to thank the Egyptian, Jordanian and Turkish governments for their ongoing support on the ground in Tripoli. I am also very pleased to advise the House that two Australians who were detained in Tripoli have been released and both have now departed safely. The second Australian, who was released today, has departed with the assistance of the Turkish government who flew him to Turkey on a military aircraft. I would like to register the deep appreciation of the Australian government for Turkey’s assistance to ensure his safe departure from Libya following his release. It is an enormous relief to his family and to the Australian government.

The international community has a simple, clear message for Colonel Gaddafi: it is time to go. It is time to stop the killing of your own people. It is time to stop the executions. It is time to stop the beatings, the torture, the violence and the terror. It is time, Mr Gaddafi, to listen to the voices of your people and to the voices of the world. It is time to go.

Honourable members—Hear, hear!