Xenophon, Mr N.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (15:39): One of the communities of my former electorate and current electorate I have had the pleasure to deal with for a number of years is Adelaide's Uyghur community. Earlier this week, I received an email from a member of the community that I found quite powerful and moving, so I sought to contact them and speak to them about it. They indicated to me that they felt that it was appropriate for me to read out their missive to the parliament. I have confirmed with them their identity and that that is their wish. Whilst I do not intend to identify them, I do intend to read this out to the parliament. It says:

Dear…Member for Florey

My name is—

and they give their name—

and I have been living in—

part of my electorate—

for the past six years. I am writing to share my concern regarding Nick Xenophon running for South Australian State.

I was born in occupied East Turkistan…my family and I sought refuge in Australia in early 2009, and have been the fortunate few that managed to escape East Turkistan in time from facing the systematic ethnic cleansing that is taking place in my beloved country by the Chinese Communist Party (CPP). My parents and their forefathers grew up in East Turkistan, they personally experienced the generational abuse that the Uyghur people living in East Turkistan faced from the CCP, and overcame many hurdles to give my siblings and I a fair chance in life. My parents sacrificed their entire life and the safety of our extended family and friends to escape the oppression from the CCP. After many years to healing from our trauma, I am proud to say that we have settled wonderfully into the multicultural and democratic Australia.

Now imagine our surprise and horror when someone like Nick Xenophon, who has taken an active role in contributing to the horrendous abuse that my people in East Turkistan are continuously facing by the CCP is now knocking at the door of our home, our new safe space, asking for our support to run for senate. Not only that, but seeing Nick's face on those billboard around my neighbourhood have brought back many flashbacks and fear for the future of Australia.

The current situation for Uyghurs in Australia has been very stressful, especially since 2017. There have been many occasions where Uyghurs in our community have felt unsafe even as they reside in Australia. The Chinese government has come after our families that are still living in occupied East Turkistan simply because we live in Australia and are an active part of the community. I personally have not been able to speak to my uncles, aunties, cousins and sister due to the communication restrictions that the CCP have forced upon my family. I, myself, grew up receiving many threatening phone calls from the CCP as a child, pressuring my return for the safety of my family. I can never explain the stress and pressure this has caused me as an individual. The new Chinese consulate that recently opened in Joslin has also caused stress in our community, as many Uyghurs feel unsafe with such a large consulate in a nearby neighbourhood.

The recent news of Nick Xenophon running for South Australian senate is a huge concern for the Uyghur community in SA. Nick Xenophon worked for Huawei for a number of years. Huawei has created and tested artificial intelligence face scanning systems that can recognise Uyghurs and alert Chinese police. Huawei has aided the Chinese government in arresting many of our loved ones and is complicit in the genocide of Uyghurs.

I ask fellow residents of Florey to stand up against this bully, and protect Australia from future threat of someone like Nick Xenophon can bring into our local government. I ask that my safe space, my home in—

and they identify their suburb—

continues to bring me peace and healing from my past trauma from living in an oppressive state.

They then say they are looking forward to hearing from me, and I took the step to contact them and ask them whether they wished me to speak in parliament.

Mr Xenophon's involvement with Huawei is well known. His attempts to persuade the public and the parliament for the benefit of this Chinese company are also well known. What is not known is the exact nature of his agreement with them or how much money changed hands or indeed how, where or in which country this money was paid. Questions also remain as to why Mr Xenophon feels that his lobbying efforts on behalf of a company that is ultimately subject to the direction of the Chinese Communist Party should be exempted from the foreign influence legislation.

Mr Xenophon has claimed that he was merely seeking to address untruths told about Huawei, and Mr Xenophon seeks the support of South Australians at the forthcoming federal election. He needs to come clean with all of us as to whether his advocacy on behalf of Huawei was done out of a desire to simply help a company—a Chinese company that has been involved in oppression—or whether he was merely seeking to cash in on his celebrity.