Saudi Arabia

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by West Australian Senator Scott Ludlam (Greens), which means it passed and that the documents will need to be produced.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes with concern reports that:

(i) the Saudi Arabian Government is breaking humanitarian law in its attacks on Yemen by bombing schools, hospitals and refugee camps, and is pushing Yemenis towards famine by blocking supply routes,

(ii) the Australian Defence Department has approved four military exports to Saudi Arabia in the past year and that the Australian Government is leading a push for more, and

(iii) the Minister for Defence Industry, the Honourable Christopher Pyne, MP, visited Riyadh in December 2016 to promote Australian defence material to senior government figures, including Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah al-Saud, the head of Saudi Arabia's National Guard;

(b) notes that the Dutch Parliament voted in 2016 to ban military exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom (UK) started a review in February aimed at halting UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and former US President Barack Obama halted the sale of precision-guided technology to Saudi Arabia, all on humanitarian grounds; and

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister for Defence, by no later than 6 pm on 30 March 2017:

(i) the Minister for Defence Industry's itinerary in Saudi Arabia, and

(ii) any documents relating to approvals for military exports to Saudi Arabia since January 2016.