Key Points
- Simon Birmingham has pledged to reopen Australia's embassy in Kyiv if the Opposition is elected.
- Australia evacuated the embassy in 2022 amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and relocated it to Poland.
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says the embassy in Poland can "manage Australia's interests quite effectively".
The Opposition has announced that, if elected, it will work to reopen Australia's empty embassy in Ukraine.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham announced the commitment during a visit to Kyiv, saying about 70 countries have reopened a physical presence in Ukraine to show support for the country, which has been fighting off a Russian invasion since February 2022.
Birmingham said he has been visiting the Ukrainian capital to observe humanitarian work, meet with Ukrainian government ministers and witness first-hand how Ukraine is faring in its third year of war.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast from Kyiv, Birmingham said sensitive briefings, intelligence and military briefings "can't all be done remotely".
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Birmingham said other NATO countries and partners like Japan and South Korea are on the ground in Ukraine receiving sensitive information and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would welcome Australia's ambassador back.
"We should invest significantly in supporting Ukraine, a fellow democracy, to defend itself against Russia, to ensure Russia is defeated, so it sends a signal to other autocrats around the world," he said.
In a statement, Birmingham criticised the Labor government for not reopening the embassy thus far.
"The Albanese government's stubborn refusal to reopen Australia's embassy has left us an international outlier and raised further questions about Australia's reliability and dependability as an international partner," he wrote.
Birmingham also said Australian taxpayers are still paying the rent to Canada for the shared embassy in Kyiv, "whilst at the same time also paying office and housing accommodation for our Ambassador in Poland".
Australia's embassy in Kyiv
Australia evacuated its embassy in Kyiv in February 2022, and its staff were relocated to a temporary office in Lviv, a city in Western Ukraine, before moving to Warsaw, Poland.
In February 2023, Zelenskyy was asked by SBS chief international correspondent Ben Lewis if he would like to see the return of Australia's ambassador to Ukraine Bruce Edwards to Kyiv during a televised news conference.
Zelenskyy said that it was "so nice to hear a question that you can say 'yes' to" and that he would like to see the return of the ambassador aboard one of the 90 Bushmaster armoured vehicles that Australia has sent to support the Ukrainian war effort.
"To shake hands with the ambassador of Australia — I'll do it with pleasure," he said. "Please come back. But on Bushmaster — we need one more," he said to laughter from journalists gathered.
During Senate estimates in February, the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade responded to a question from Birmingham about the embassy, saying the "situation remains unpredictable and difficult to mitigate" and that the embassy in Poland is "able to manage Australia's interests quite effectively".
According to a Lowy Institute Poll published in June, three-quarters of Australians support the reopening of the Australian embassy in Kyiv and support for Ukraine remains high, with three-quarters of Australians continuing to support Australia's military aid to the war-torn country.
Australia has provided more than $1 billion in military support to Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022, including Bushmasters, anti-tank weapons, air defence missiles, artillery and ammunition.
With reporting from the Australian Associated Press.
