STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia) (13:29): There is a disturbing situation unfolding in Burma, where the military regime is preparing to stage an election that much of the world recognises accurately as a sham. Burma's generals are not holding an election; they are staging a performance designed to legitimise their rule while silencing the people's voice.

Communication is filtered, pro-democracy parties are silenced, observers are constrained and citizens risk punishment for speaking freely. It is aimed at creating an appearance of normalcy without any genuine competition. It is a design, not a decision.

Independent media have been driven underground; VPNs have been outlawed; and citizens live in fear that anything they write, post or share could be used against them. Across Burma, 3.6 million people are displaced, and entire regions remain under active conflict. In these conditions alone, no credible nationwide vote is possible.

Australia must not look away. We should strongly reject this sham election, refuse recognition of any government formed under it and, instead, support the National Unity Government and other civil society groups working for a federal, democratic future in Burma. Australia should also boost humanitarian assistance through cross-border channels, not through the junta, and work with partners to disrupt the cyberscam compounds and trafficking networks that now reach Australian households and businesses.

The Chinese Communist Party's deepening support for the regime through military aid, surveillance exports and control over strategic deep-sea ports underscores a wider issue at play—not just Burma's freedom but regional stability and Australia's own security. Australia must act with clarity and conviction, because silence is complicity, and it must do so before this sham becomes a precedent.