Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1029 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

Who was next to give permission to blame the victim? It was not Pauline Hanson. Amanda Vanstone stood up and said, "Bludgers, bludgers, bludgers, all over Australia". She killed every training program for employment that existed that made sense; she killed every initiative that tried to put people back on their feet; she killed every solid measure that Labor had spent years working on and went back to the rhetoric of the 1950s. What we have seen is this conservative Government going back to the 1950s and saying, "We forgot in the 1950s. We dropped the ball. We lost government. But, hey presto, here we are again. We have not forgotten our views. We do not want any of these people here. People who do not work are bludgers".

This is our good Amanda Vanstone who began that entire debate, creating bludgers, creating people who are second-rate citizens in her opinion, creating fear, creating distrust, and even creating families that she said were drawing an unnecessary amount of money. She is creating again the whole mind-set that Australia is somehow full of people that you cannot trust, that do not want to work, that are bludgers; and this with the background of the witch-hunt against ATSIC and the witch-hunt against immigrants and refugees. It was not Pauline Hanson who gave permission for these views. It was not Pauline Hanson who started this debate.

Then our good Dr Howard - he is not a doctor yet; no doubt he will get an honorary doctorate because he is doing such a good job - Mr Howard, said, "Let us drop political correctness. Let us drop chairperson". Oh, yes. Oh, such a mealy-mouthed contribution to free speech came from Mr Howard, and what did that give permission to? That gave permission to the opening up again of that entire debate that feminists had fought for the last 20 years - to look at language and its implications. It was Mr Howard who gave permission for all the uglies to come out of the box again.

Along with that background, what do we get? Then we let Mr Borbidge loose on the world. Oh, thank you, Mr Borbidge. Is it not a wonder for mankind that we have him in charge? Suddenly, not only are blacks bludgers, not only are blacks people who do no work, not only are blacks people who take unfair advantage, not only are blacks people who run organisations that need special audit; they are after every piece of land in Australia and they are going to deny Australia's growth. That is Mr Borbidge's message. The Wik judgment comes down with a very fair decision about land ownership in Australia, and what does Mr Borbidge do? Mr Borbidge sets up fear and hate.

Who is the problem here? Why is Pauline Hanson being listened to? It does not matter what Pauline Hanson says. She is not new in her views. Pauline Hanson is one more small-minded person, of which we have quite a few in Australia. Why are we listening to her? Why is anyone listening to her? Why is anyone feeling comfortable with what she says? Because the conservatives are giving people permission to feel like victims, to feel unsafe, to feel insecure, to hate blacks, to hate immigrants, to hate women for daring to want to be called a chairperson instead of a chairman, thank you very much. What they have done is taken us back to the 1950s and given us all that diatribe about minority groups in Australia. They have made us worry about migrants, made us worry about women, made us worry about students and made us worry about blacks. That is why Pauline Hanson is a problem in Australia - because there is an absolute lack of leadership by the conservative governments here, and in Queensland, in WA, in South Australia, and in Victoria.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .