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October 8, 2026
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson has accused new Greens leader David Shoebridge of seeking to “outsource” Australia’s foreign policy to Russia.
Senator Shoebridge this week said he did not back military assistance for Ukraine unless it was greenlit by the UN Security Council.
But Russia – which has killed more than 15,000 civilians in Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale invasion – can veto UNSC resolutions as a permanent member.
Senator Paterson said on Thursday the Greens would effectively let Russian President Vladimir Putin call the shots on Australia’s response to the war.
“What’s absolutely extraordinary that David Shoebridge and the Greens want Australia to abandon Ukraine and allow Russia and Vladimir Putin to run roughshod over Ukraine and extinguish their independence and their sovereignty,” Senator Paterson told News24 on Thursday.
“They want to say that Vladimir Putin should have a veto about whether Australia acts in our own national interest.
“If you follow this logic to its extreme logical conclusion, we wouldn’t even step in to assist New Zealand if Russia invaded them tomorrow unless Russia allowed us to do so through a UN Security Council resolution.
“It is morally repugnant, and it is strategically reckless, particularly in a dangerous world.”
Speaking to the same broadcaster, Senator Shoebridge said his party backed humanitarian aid for Ukraine but couldn’t support sending weapons.
“The Greens have not changed our position in terms of rock-solid support for the people of Ukraine,” he said.
“We absolutely support giving humanitarian aid, civilian aid to the Ukrainian government in resisting the illegal invasion from Russia.”
He said the Greens had been “the strongest proponents for rock-solid sanctions against Russia” and called on the Albanese government to do more to stop Russian oil getting into Australia.
While Australia has slapped thousands of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, many of the oil refining hubs that provide Australia with fuel still rely on Russian crude.
“We have been calling to close the loophole in sanctions, which allows Russian oil to be sent from Russia to India, to Singapore, to China, put in refineries and then sent to Australia where Australians are literally funding the Russian war machine,” Senator Shoebridge said.
He said “the best thing we can do to protect the people of Ukraine is prevent Russia from being able to build the weapons to attack them”.
In addition to co-ordinated sanctions against Russia and its shadow fleet of tankers, Australia has given Ukraine almost $1.9bn in direct aid and helped train Ukrainian troops.
The support, which includes dozens of battle tanks, has earned Australia a spot on the Kremlin’s list of “unfriendly countries”.
Anthony Albanese signed a security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month.
The agreement lets Ukraine’s military share “battle-tested expertise” with Australian soldiers and weapon makers.
“This is an issue not just for Europe,” the Prime Minister said at the time.
“This is an issue for the world because if a large, more powerful country in Russia is allowed to profit from breaking the international rules of law with its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, then that sets a bad precedent for the entire world.”