Saturday 31st May 1997
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Last September Ms Hanson said in her maiden speech to Parliament:
"Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40% of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. A truly multicultural country can never be strong or united. The world is full of failed and tragic examples, ranging from Ireland to Bosnia to Africa and, closer to home, Papua New Guinea. America and Great Britain are currently paying the price." Yesterday Ms Hanson said in a major shift from the views expressed above, "Asians have always had a presence in Australia and always will have."
Maintaining her stand earlier in the week in which she apologised to Aborigines for the past sins of the Australian government she said that she was genuinely concerned about the living conditions of Aborigines.
She also took the opportunity to distance herself from West Australian Liberal senator Ross Lightfoot who had said that Aborigines were "the lowest colour on the civilisation spectrum". With respect to her book THE TRUTH she said, "I didn't write the second part of the book so that is not my views on the issue. The first part of the book is my writings."
The disclaimer on page (v) in the front of the book reads: "The responsibility for Part II of this book is not Pauline Hanson's, but rests squarely on the shoulders of the Pauline Hanson Support Movement members who collectively prepared this book."
Last night Ms Hanson succeeded in launching One Nation in New South Wales but it took over 300 police to keep an estimated 2,000 protesters at bay while a full house of 1,500 guests paid Au$10 each to listen to what she had to say.
In a disgraceful exercise which could only have served the purpose of inflaming an already volatile situation the Labor run Newcastle City Council gave their blessing to an anti-Hanson rally just hundreds of metres from the Civic Theatre where Ms Hanson was to speak.
The protesters broke away from the rally to harass the guests who had to run a 50 metre gauntlet through a corridor of police to gain access to the venue.
Ms Hanson received a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd when she entered the theatre.
After the event the organiser, Peter Archer, was attacked by a mob of protesters as he left the entrance of the Civic Theatre. It took a cordon of nearly 100 police to escort Archer through the thugs who tugged at his clothes and yelled abuse at him despite the police protection. One man was charged with inciting to riot during the incident.
A visibly shaken Mr Archer left in the protection of a police car.
In other news Channel Nine's A Current Affair host Ray Martin blatantly turned up the heat on Ms Hanson last night while reporting from Hong Kong. The British outpost reverts to China in just over a month and the thrust of his opening story was the damage that Ms Hanson was doing to business relations with our Asian neighbours.
A small business owner was plucked out of nowhere and widely reported during news broadcasts the rest of the evening as saying that Ms Hanson was to blame for Australia now being seeing as not the "lucky" country anymore but the "racist" country. He had, he said, been told by Asian customers to remove reference to his cosmetic products being produced in Australia.
The story just touched on the main concern to Australian businesses in Hong Kong not when it talked to the carefully selected anti-Hanson business proprietors there but when Martin interviewed a Chinese businessman there who said that the real danger to local businesses was the manner in which the communist Chinese would respond to the democratic system once they took over control.
Somehow this point got lost in the story... It is a pity that A Current Affair has lost credibility by not looking at issues concerning Australians such as the Packer-Fairfax debacle - Hanson is a soft target and the "boss" won't get upset or compromised. No wonder he wants to control even more of Australia's "free" press with a little help from his well-placed friends.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Official home page.Tucker is being sued by a Brisbane advertising firm, Kelly Gee, over the Liberal's alleged failure to pay for advertising during the 1995 state election.
National Party president, David Russell QC, last night challenged Tucker to come clean saying, "It's a figment of his imagination and it (the claim) would be strenuously defended.
"It's obviously unhelpful to the Coalition relationship to have a Coalition partner which fails to pay its debts."
Tucker's position as Liberal party president is currently under challenge by Bob Carroll, an advertising agency owner.
Dear Sir,
I am glad to see positive responses to my earlier letters. I believe such discussion will certainly do much good to Australia. Even though I am not an Australian myself, I have much compassion of the land where I used to live for years. I wish you all the very best.
Let me put up this statement as a foreigner: I agree that the official language in Australia should be English (and languages of indigenous Aborigines), not Chinese or Vietnamese, Greek or Italian, German or French, though multiculturalism can still be upheld. Different ethnic groups can certainly practise their own cultures and languages at home or within a certain community. In order to unite a country, a common language is a must. How can Australia have won the war against the Japanese if individual servicemen didn't speak English?! After saying that, I'd like to point out that the "assimilated" Chinese in US were not absorbed into the American society until the third or fourth generations. There is a natural chasm between Eastern cultures and the West which takes years to bridge across. As long as these people put in their efforts to learn and truly consider themselves to be citizens of the country, I don't see any logical reasons why they can't blend into the Australian mainstream one day.
Singapore (where I have been residing for the past 10 months) is a good example. All the education institutes are taught in English, though the classes consist of Chinese, Indians and Malays. Individual ethnic groups can practise their own culture and religion at home. They are even sponsored by the government: public holidays for the Christians (Christmas and Easter), Muslims, Chinese, Malays, Indians.... The Singaporean official language? English! Singapore can achieve such harmonious unity, and so can Australia.... one day. I can never stop to condemn people gaining immigration status back door by enrolling in training courses, overstaying in Australia under expired tourist visas, or by other ugly illegal channels. The Australian government should take their strongest, even militant, measure against such illegal immigrants, as well as those Australians who enticed them to act accordingly. These are the culprits who destroy the unity of your country for their own benefits.
As regard to James Nguyen's abominable comments, he is less than pathetic. All people who hold such a view, including those who believe that "the yellow people will one day rule the world ", are indeed the re-incarnation of Adolf Hitler. Not only Australia should get rid of such lawless morons and their stupid views, nowhere in the world will welcome them. It is not wise to project such an asinine view to all Asians. Hitler believed that one day the Germans would rule the world. Should we block all Germans from coming to Australia?
Let me re-emphasise my earlier suggestion: For the sake of Australia, her economy and her future, block all immigrant influx from China, South east Asia, Europe, South America and all other countries. It does not do Australia any good if any political party keeps pin-pointing Asia. Such will only raise more breaches and distrust with your Asian neighbours. Throw out all the illegal immigrants. Reduce the immigrant intake, and assimilate the new comers in good wills, compassionately and patiently. You have my blessings.
Sincerely,
Dr Wan Kai Tak, Singapore.
Subject: criticism of the one???divided nation and P. Hanson's views
I read the maiden speech of P. Hanson and find it sad that this person
can not take the time to educate or inform herself on the issues she
comments on. Re the aboriginal situation, it sounds fair to say that
all Australians should be treated equally, but it is also fair to have
all these people at the same starting-point. Since the settlement of
Australia by English convicts 200 years ago, the indigenous people have
been pushed back away from the starting line. Their lands were robbed
from them by these white settlers and therefore the indigenous people
could not even gain food to feed themselves. This situation helps
explain the hostile actions taken by aboriginal people against the white
settlers. In addition, it was commonplace for whites to kill aboriginal
men or to rape aborignal women who tried to exist on the peripheries of
their stolen lands. The "stolen generation" tragedy was yet another
infringement of basic human rights visited on aboriginal people by white
governments and ultimtely the white popluation who did nothing to stop
it. Silence is tacit consent.
Today, I read comments regarding similar treatment being meted out ot
British children and this comment asked why is there no outcry about
this. Well, consider that these British children were placed in the
care of people who had the same culture. Meanwhile, aboriginal children
were placed into a different culture in an attempt to breed out their
'blackness' as if it were something to be ashamed of. I consider this
to be insulting to anybody and the people who hold ideas that their
culture is the superior culture could be called arrogant. Can anybody
assert that their culture is the best? There are many problems in white
society eg incest, seperation within the family due to work demands
because of the Protestant work ethic to name a few. I must finish this
letter now.
Ms. S. Boughen (a former resident of Ipswich district)
Subject: That's interesting!
I am a British university student reading Modern History and Politics at
Manchester.
I would like to say that I am absolutely disgusted but not very
surprised at the upsurge of racist and homophobic sentiments of some
Australians.
Your party and your election as an MP is a mere demonstration of
Australia's conservative mood. Australians have always been racist
towrds the aboriginese. My Australian aunt can't stand the site of them.
When I heard of Ms Hanson's election victory, I was not surprised by it.
Don't see your election victory as anything amazing or significant. Nor
should you be proud of it?
To be honest most people don't give a shit about Australians, it must be
the unhelped "down under-phenomenon" that put you in that position.
No matter how hard you try, you won't get anywhere really. To the
outside world you're absolutely no threat to the present Australian
government.
You're just an anti-liberal reactionary group which is quite normal in
any society that experiences economic instability with high
unemployment.
During economic boom, you will not exist. Thus it is pointless even
trying to get anywhere in the first place.
Why don't you just forget it? you're doomed from the start. Your
supporters, as you describe them, will abandon you as soon they get jobs
(or maybe few more brain cells) but that's probably asking too much of
them.
Anyway, good luck! and to those Australians out there who perceive this
little "acid-wash jeans and an Australian-made T-shirt in fushia, or
blue" woman as a threat then please don't.
(A perspective from the continent)
Subject: Launch of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party
Hi redneck,
as a fifth generation WHITE anglo-saxon Australian I have to
say that I find the One (RACE) Nation party repulcive and is a thing
that I am ashamed to have happen in Australia. Anyway, in 5 years we
will all say "Pauline who?"
Glen Mitchell
P.S I like the many spelling mistakes on your page Mr Redneck, it
proves you are a moron.
Subject: pauline hanson
okay, she is a cow. And to the people who wrote in letters saying that chinese
people can't speak english, you stupid fuck-wits, of course they bloody can.
They probably just don't feel like making the effort to talk to racist bastards
who will just pick on them anyway. All the Chinese people and Japanese people I
know speak english, and even it isn't good english, once they relax it becomes
better. So you are all wrong.And if you think that I'm worng, then fuck you.
Siisa Trevaskis
After scoring just 62 runs in his last five innings at an average of 12.4 the Australian opening batsman is a one man demolition party for the hopes of up and coming players like Justin Langer (who scored 152 runs earlier this week in the match against Gloucester). In fact Taylor was out for a duck in the first innings against Gloucester and made only 30 in the second after taking 42 balls at one stage to score a run.
The other top order batsman in the match, Matthew Elliott, scored 124 runs booking his place in the team. Taylor's decision has sunk the hopes of talented batsman Michael Slater who should replace him if this season's form was to play any part in the decision making at all.
But it doesn't. Slater has not been given a chance with the bat.
Taylor said, "I think I've got to play the first test. Michael Slater probably won't get the opportunity to score runs before it (because Taylor has selected himself in Thursday's game against Edgbaston to the exclusion of Slater), and we only have three openers and have to pick two of them. So it probably means I play."
Vice-captain Steve Waugh a tour selector (who replaced Ian Healy in this position for no apparent reason except his role in leading Australia to a win against South Africa after Taylor was dropped from the one day series there) said that Taylor must be assessed honestly, while the other, coach Geoff Marsh, keeps on saying it is up to Taylor to make the hard call. There is no sign of that happening.
In a remarkable, lame excuse for his poor form Taylor said, "Every side is making sure they keep the pressure on me, so these games are not like county games on previous tours when I just enjoyed them. To me, they are like Test matches now and I felt very nervous to go out and bat.
"My confidence is not as good as it is when things are going well, but I'm hanging in there."
Yeah but what about the rest of the team....
The jetty on the Brisbane river is coming along extremely well - work continues on it today.
Sport:
Australian cricket captain Mark Taylor has just voted himself into the side to play the first test for the Ashes.Personal trivia, from the global office:
Another gorgeous day in paradise.
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