ADJOURNMENT

Mr NG (Menzies) (19:54): It is a great honour to represent the largest Iranian community in Australia in my electorate of Menzies. They are our business owners, colleagues, artists, volunteers and friends and our children's classmates, giving so much of themselves and their rich culture to our country. It has been a difficult year for our Iranian community.

The conflict in the Middle East has caused further fear and uncertainty for loved ones and compatriots but also hope that the Islamic Republic regime in Iran may be weakening. This comes after the brutal crackdown against protesters by the regime earlier this year, which saw tens of thousands of Iranians killed and terrible human rights abuses—all of this amongst a communications blackout that heightened that fear and uncertainty.

It is not only the last 12 months, though, that have been difficult but 47 years of trauma caused by the Islamic Republic regime. The communications blackout has lifted in recent days, which has allowed further reports to come out of the horrific actions of the regime both during the protests earlier this year and under the cover of the current conflict, where the regime has continued to carry out executions and arrests of those it deems dissidents.

Local people have also expressed to me fears of supporters of the regime operating here in Australia. Small-business owners and their families in my electorate who have displayed the Lion and Sun flag have reported being targeted for violence and abuse. I want to assure those people that these concerns are treated incredibly seriously, and I will continue to raise them at the highest levels.

I want to particularly thank the Iranian community in my local area, who have taken the time to meet with me and members of the government to help us better understand how we can support them. I'm incredibly grateful to House of Persia in Doncaster for bringing together community leaders and hosting the Minister for Home Affairs, as well as the member for Deakin and me, for important and honest conversations.

Thank you to president Frank Parvizian and the entire committee at House of Persia for the work you do supporting our community. I want to acknowledge local business owner Shahrzad Shirkhanzadeh and Dr Minoo Ghamari for taking time to talk to me about their concerns and how the Australian government can better support Iranian Australians. I'd also like to thank the Australian Iranian Society of Victoria for their ongoing engagement and for holding their Nowruz celebration at Victoria's Parliament House a couple of months ago to mark the new year and share the beauty of Persian culture through a tradition that is over 3,000 years old.

Thank you to Afrooz, Kam, Houra and all those involved at AISOV for your tireless work and advocacy. I'm grateful to the Manningham Baha'i community for meeting to raise their concerns regarding the ongoing oppression of the people of their faith, particularly prisoners on death row being subject to torture and even mock executions. Another troubling discourse that our Iranian community have had to deal with is, unfortunately, the statement by the opposition leader suggesting Iran is a bad country.

Such reductive language is not fitting for someone who seeks to lead this country. I know that Iran is a great country and a great civilisation with a great people and a terrible, oppressive, murderous government in the Islamic Republic regime. I know some people will be hoping for an end to the war in Iran, but I also know that many Iranian Australians do not want a return to the status quo.

They will be hoping for change. I know that many people in my community have expressed strong support for Reza Pahlavi. I believe that Iran's political future should be determined by the Iranian people.

I stand with all Iranians across society in their fight against oppression. Our government has recently announced additional sanctions and travel bans, bringing the total to over 230 sanctions against individuals and entities linked with the regime and the IRGC. This is on top of expelling the Iranian ambassador and listing the IRGC as a state sponsor of terrorism.

This is stronger action than any previous government has taken. To the Iranian people in my electorate: I want to thank you for your continued engagement, for your contribution to our community and for your strength and resilience at this incredibly difficult time. The Albanese government and I as your local member will continue to call out the actions of the Islamic Republic regime and will continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and with all Iranian Australians.