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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3814 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

being taken from families and living in a society where English is the dominant language, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have retained a strong sense of their own cultural identities. More and more we see that strong sense of culture and identity being celebrated in Australian society. That has been a truly wonderful thing. I think there has been more of that since the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation has been set up.

A critical issue in this whole debate, too, I think, is the issue of compassion. The Dalai Lama, amongst many other leaders in our community, says that what the world needs more of is compassion. It is precisely compassion that is required to carry Aboriginal people into an age of self-determination with dignity. As for racial intolerance, I believe that Canberra has always had a very good record in this regard, until very recently. I have to say that the current Prime Minister must take some responsibility for a lack of leadership on this issue. Instead of making a statement to direct this nation on this issue, as he did to his credit on the gun debate, where I think he did show strong leadership and take a strong stance, he, in ignorance, is leading a charge against so-called political correctness. In fact, on television tonight there was a sorry report on what the PM was up to today. I think that was very unfortunate. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand the value of leading by example.

As I said, the Greens are very happy to support this motion, but I would like to take this opportunity to say that we should also look for appropriate practical legislative mechanisms to promote this debate. We believe that the same principles of affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination that are in the Public Sector Management Act should be included in the Territory Owned Corporations Act. That is why we have drafted amendments to the TOC Act to include the very things that Mrs Carnell has put in paragraph (3) of her motion, and that is:

... that all Canberrans have full access to the Territory's social, political and economic life regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, language, gender or place of birth.

As I said earlier, it is up to elected representatives to show leadership on this issue. That means legislative commitment to eliminating discrimination and promoting the employment opportunities of disadvantaged groups in our community.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (10.14): Mr Speaker, I also want to associate myself with the motion that the Chief Minister has moved. It is important at the present time that the Australian community indicate its collective reaction to the issues which Pauline Hanson has placed on the table. I heard one commentator say that the issues raised by someone like Pauline Hanson are by no means new. One can go to a pub almost anywhere in Australia, or perhaps to a supermarket or other places, and hear views of the kind expressed by Pauline Hanson expressed by other Australians. The disturbing feature of the most recent debate, however, has been the perception that these views are other than extreme views, isolated views and the views of only ignorant people. That has been challenged by the fact that they are espoused now by a member of the Federal Parliament.

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