Page 482 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 23 March 2022
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personal wealth and are of economic and strategic significance to Russia, including as a result of their connections to the Russian President.
The federal government has also provided $70 million in defensive military assistance, non-lethal military equipment and medical supplies in support of Ukraine’s defence, as well as $35 million in humanitarian funding. Earlier this week the Morrison government developed an additional $21 million support package of defensive military assistance for Ukrainian armed forces, which will bring Australia’s total military assistance so far to $91 million.
On Sunday the Morrison government committed to an additional $30 million in emergency humanitarian assistance. This contribution will focus on protecting women, children, the elderly and those with a disability, and brings Australia’s total humanitarian contribution to $65 million. To help address education and critical protection needs for children, people living with a disability and those facing risks of gender-based violence, Australia will also provide $10 million through non-government organisations under the Australian Humanitarian Partnership.
Australia stands ready to respond generously to any resettlement needs stemming from this conflict. Ukrainian applications for visas are being fast-tracked, and all Ukrainian nationals in Australia will be provided an automatic extension to any expiring visas. Since the conflict began, the Morrison government has issued almost 4,500 visas to Ukrainians. Over 600 Ukrainians with these visas have arrived and more are coming every day.
All of the action that the federal government has taken, and is taking, is focused on supporting the Ukrainian people through this conflict. The Canberra Liberals offer our absolute support to the federal government, its sanctions on Russia and its ongoing support for Ukraine. We also acknowledge, and our thoughts go out to, the Canberrans with connections to Russia who are devastated by what they are seeing. Most importantly, to all Ukrainian Canberrans: know that we, as a whole in this chamber, are with you.
MS DAVIDSON (Murrumbidgee) (11.04): The Greens support this motion brought forward by the Chief Minister today. Seeing acts of brutality that we hoped had been consigned to history has left many of us feeling horrified. This act of aggression by Putin has created a nightmare for the people of Ukraine.
We are deeply angered by the needless deaths that we see by the hour in Ukraine, by the shelling of Ukrainian cities and towns, the shelling of hospitals and medical facilities, the shelling of people’s homes. We are distressed and saddened by the lifeless bodies lying in the streets, the injuries to innocent civilians, the families torn apart and the destruction of the Ukrainian people’s hopes and dreams.
We are in despair that, after everything that so many generations have experienced around the world, there has not been a true commitment by Putin to peace and to finding ways to resolve differences without violence and destruction, and that we once again live in a world where we see the fear of nuclear war in our children’s faces.
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