- Live coverage: Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash
- MH17 perpetrators must be brought to justice, says Abbott
The Opposition leader told the Parliament this morning that his party would assist Tony Abbott and his government, saying now is a time for "national unity".
"It is a time for temperate responses, for cool heads and measured action… but it also demands strong resolve," he said.
"I say this to the prime minister today, Labor understands the complexity and the difficulty of the decisions that you will face. We understand that as people are working through the pain and the grief, there will be many understandable calls for all sorts of action.
"I say that Labor is prepared to support the government… We will work with your measured approach."
Mr Shorten also said his party would support calls for international action, saying that the missiles reportedly fired "could not possibly be made by the people who possibly fired them".
"These separatist terrorists are obtaining these instruments of murder from elsewhere," he said.
"This must be investigated and it must be stopped."
He described the events as debilitating, bewildering and a "violation of the rules of civilisation".
"For the people of Ukraine, this is another terrible chapter in a conflict that has already come at a most tragic human cost," he said.
“This horrific situation can seem far removed from our daily lives, but there is no question that the conflict in this disputed part of the Ukraine has now reached Australia.”
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