STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator DARMANIN (Victoria—Deputy Government Whip in the Senate) (13:32): Democracy and human rights are the foundations of a fair and free society. They are what allow working people to have a voice, to make change and to build better lives for themselves and their communities. But in Myanmar these fundamental rights have been stripped away.

Since the military coup in February 2021, the people of Myanmar have lived under a regime of fear and repression. Since seizing power in 2021, the junta have banned trade unions and criminalised criticism of the electoral process. Unionists and pro-democracy activists have been imprisoned and tortured, and thousands more have been driven into exile.

Phyo Sandar Soe, the assistant secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar, is one of those unionists exiled from her home. Phyo, whose work helped establish a minimum wage in Myanmar, has been charged with a life sentence of treason. Her leadership symbolises the determination of Myanmar's people to reclaim their future for a return to democracy, peace and rights for working people and trade unions.

The junta are pressing ahead with their plans to hold sham elections on 28 December, despite controlling less than a third of the country. As reaffirmed in the Malaysia-Australia foreign ministers' joint statement, peace and the cessation of violence must remain the priority. There can be no place for attacks, violence and repression of civilians in a democracy.

Any election must be free, fair, transparent and inclusive, reflecting the true democratic will of the people of Myanmar.