Federal Opposition vows to reopen Australian embassy in Ukraine if elected

The Federal Opposition has pledged to reopen Australia’s embassy in Kyiv if it wins the next election, describing the post’s continued closure as an “obvious irritant” in the bilateral relationship.

The opposition’s foreign spokesman Simon Birmingham made the announcement on a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he met key figures in the Ukranian government, including the deputy defence minister Dymtro Klimenkov and Oleksandr Balanustsa who is the deputy defence minister for Euro Atlantic integration.

It is the first time a foreign minister or shadow foreign minister has visited Ukraine in a decade, with the last visit made by the then-foreign minister Julie Bishop, who visited in the aftermath of the downing of flight MH17 in which 38 people who called Australia home were murdered.

In the immediate days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 most countries, including Australia, relocated their embassies to Warsaw, Poland.

Once it became clear that Ukraine had successfully defended the capital from Russian capture, the majority of countries returned, including Australia’s allies the United States, United Kingdom and Canada in a show of solidarity with Kyiv.

But under the Albanese Government, Australia has remained an outlier in keeping Australia’s Ambassador outside Ukraine, at times working from a WeWork co-working space in the Polish capital.

This is despite Canada, with whom Australia co-shared its embassy space, reopening its premises in 2022 and continuing to charge Australia rent through our diplomatic no-show.

Senator Birmingham said the Government’s stubborn refusal to reopen the Kyiv post had come at a cost to our international reputation and contributed to a downgrading of our support for Ukraine.

“From Ireland to Indonesia around 70 other countries have reopened a physical presence in Kyiv, demonstrating support for Ukraine and ensuring they receive the best possible intelligence and information,” Senator Birmingham said.

“The Albanese Government’s stubborn refusal to reopen Australia’s embassy has left us an international outlier and contributed to questions about Australia’s reliability as a totally dependable partner.

“While other nations have carefully reopened their embassies in Ukraine, the Albanese Government has effectively left Australians paying twice, with rent still being paid to Canada for an embassy in Kyiv, while our actual ambassador is instead housed and accommodated in Poland.”

Reopening Australia’s embassy would send a strong and positive message of support for Ukraine while removing an obvious irritant in the relationship.

In 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky directly urged Australia to “please come back” saying he would like to shake the hand of our Ambassador in gratitude for the Bushmaster armoured vehicles that Australia has given Ukraine as it fights the Russian invaders.

But Australia’s support has also dwindled under Labor.

According to the Keil Institute’s tracker, Australia’s level of support as a share of its GDP is below that of Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland.

Senator Birmingham said this was a direct result of losing our eyes and ears on the ground.

“Under Labor Australia has slipped from being the leading non-NATO contributor to Ukraine’s defence, having been overtaken by Japan and Korea,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Given the absence of on-the-ground advice, it’s little wonder the Albanese Government has made so many bad decisions on Ukraine, like burying rather than gifting decommissioned helicopters or not sending Australian coal when it was requested.

“Reopening Australia’s embassy would send a strong and positive message of support for Ukraine while removing an obvious irritant in the relationship.

“Australian governments have managed to keep our officials safe in dangerous conflicts before, such as Baghdad and Kabul.

“It shouldn’t be beyond our system to work with all of the international partners who’ve already led the way to create the safest possible environment for our diplomats to be able to do their job effectively.”

Earlier this year, Cabinet Minister Bill Shorten, who attended the Ukraine Peace Summit on Australia’s behalf in his capacity as a former Labor leader, admitted it would have been better if his government had opened the post months ago.

He insisted the reopening of the embassy was under consideration by the Government, which has cited safety as a reason for keeping the embassy closed.

Labor MPs Julian Hill and Deb O’Neill have previously called on the Government to reopen the embassy.