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Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Page: 1130

Senator DI NATALE (Victoria—Leader of the Australian Greens) (16:43): I ask that general business notice of motion No. 719, relating to the war in Syria» , be taken as a formal motion.

The PRESIDENT: Is there any objection to this motion being taken as formal?

Senator McGrath: Yes.

The PRESIDENT: There is an objection, Senator Di Natale, so the matter cannot be dealt with without debate.

Senator DI NATALE: In lieu of moving to suspend standing orders, I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator DI NATALE: Again we see the government blocking the will of the Senate and refusing to allow us the chance to vote on this important motion. Let's be clear about this: this is about this parliament letting the Kurdish people down again. These are the Kurdish people who have put their lives on the line to help defeat ISIS. They've helped the Yazidi people escape genocide. This is a group of people across the Middle East who have been the victims of genocide in successive parts of Iraq, Iran, «Syria» and Turkey. Now Turkey's begun an offensive in one of the most stable and secure parts of «Syria» . The Syrian people have suffered enough. Turkey's actions seriously risk provoking another humanitarian crisis in «Syria» . It's jeopardising the peace process in «Syria , and Australia must make our concerns known and use all diplomatic means to end Turkey's incursion.