Extract from the WEEKLY HOUSE HANSARD Database Date: 10 December 1996 (02:37)
Ms HANSON (Oxley) (2.40 p.m.)--"Australians have a right to be proud of their heritage. Over the years, we have welcomed many new Australians from many countries. Too many people have accepted the politically correct line that we have something to be ashamed about. Writing about Slim Dusty, who is a fine Australian, one Melbourne journalist said:"
"Few countries have a past they are as rightly embarrassed about as we do."
"What trendy, politically correct rubbish! People like these try to make us ashamed to be Australians, when we have everything to be proud of. This sort of thing does not build Australia; it knocks it down. There have been too many knockers in recent times. It is about time someone said something positive about Australia. "
"Ted Seng, who was born in Malaysia and is now Deputy Mayor of Randwick City Council in New South Wales, has come out in support of some of the things I have been saying about migration to Australia. He was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney suburban newspaper the Southern Courier. Councillor Seng said that, although Australia had gained economic benefits from Asian migration, he did not want Australia to be `Asianised, Americanised or Africanised'. Councillor Seng said:"
"I do not want to see a situation in Australia where values are dramatically changed to Asian values--that's what I'd define as Asianised."
He went on to say:" I'm saying if Asian migrants want to come to Australia and live as they do in Asia, then why do they come here in the first place? If you are prepared to come here, you must make sacrifices."
"What are these things that Councillor Seng values about Australia? The same things that Australians of Anglo-Celtic and European origin value: a fair go, fighting against corruption and community spirit. Along with these goes a commitment to Judaeo-Christian values and ethics, an honest system of justice and government, and education based on English law. Councillor Seng said that Australia should stay as it has always been: a free country with a fair go for everyone. "
"Australia is a uniquely tolerant society. Most Australians do not care where you come from as long as you fit in and act like an Australian. This includes learning Australia's common language, English. Governments continue to promote ethnic separatism in our country: for example, by allowing migrants to obtain driver's licences in their mother tongue."
"New Zealand has also been debating what the future of migration should be. They have decided that learning English should have a high priority because it is important to have a stable, cohesive society as well as one that is economically strong. It is no good having a rich country if it is falling apart because of violence, gang warfare and ethnic separatism. We do not want little ethnic islands separated from the rest of the Australian community. We do want migrants who can integrate into Australian society, not congregate in just a few areas."
"What is happening in countries similar to ours? In New Zealand migrants must learn to speak English. Migrants who go there in certain categories must put up a bond of $20,000 for every person in the family over 16. The main applicant must speak English well enough to pass a test and his family must learn enough English within a year to pass a similar test. If they do not, they lose their $20,000."
"These are not mickey mouse tests. These migrants have to pass a test run by Cambridge University in England and pass it well enough to at least make themselves understood in English. These tests, called the IELTS, are an internationally recognised way to test ability in English, both spoken and written. If migrants to New Zealand fail these English tests, they lose money--a lot of money."
"Canada is also considering using IELTS to test their migrants in English skills."
"Australia really does not give anyone encouragement to learn English. We give free English lessons without any penalty for not learning, and without any real reward for learning to speak English properly. We give migrants up to 510 hours of free English instruction without any penalty or any reward for passing or failing. "
"Some people have said that I am a racist. This is rubbish. I am not a racist; I am a realist. I want a fair go for all Australians, no matter where they or their parents come from. All I want is an Australia for Australians. "
"Australians have been too easy going for far too long. No-one has a god-given right to come here. It is Australia's right to let in people who it thinks will help us grow as a nation. Migrants who come here must be prepared to fit in, as have generations of Australians who came before them. I and many other Australians are not prepared to have migrants come here to our country and start changing our culture and way of life because it offends them--for example, not being able to sing Christmas carols and hymns in some of our schools."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Nehl)--"Order! I am reluctant to interrupt the flow of eloquence from the member for Oxley but I feel obliged to inquire whether you are going to address any of your remarks to the content of the three bills before the House. Let me encourage you to do so"
. Ms HANSON--"I do not know if the rest of my speech will fit in with what you are wanting me to say. We are talking about citizenship--"
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"Continue, and I will be the judge. "
Ms HANSON--"Thank you. I want to see a drastic reduction in overseas aid. Charity begins at home. If Australians want to help people in need overseas, they can donate to one of many overseas aid organisations. It is not the government's job to dole out the taxpayers' dollars in charity to foreigners, many of whom do not appreciate that the people who are paying for it are the Australian taxpayers. "
"If I am allowed to decide who can come into my home, we Australians should be allowed to decide who can come and live in our country. Migrant crime gangs have flourished over the last 20 years, with drugs and money laundering, something we rarely used to hear about. "
"The New South Wales Police Commissioner, Peter Ryan, recently arrived from Britain, was only pointing out the obvious when he said that New South Wales crime is horrific with strong links to ethnic groups. Of course, the professional multiculturalists, both Labor and Liberal, do not want this said, even though it is common knowledge. Mr Ryan evidently has not learned yet that people in positions of power are not supposed to tell the truth about such things in Australia. "
"The present situation is just not good enough. Criminals convicted of serious crimes should be deported if not Australian citizens and, if they are, there should be harsher penalties to deter this sort of crime. "
"For the last 10 years, 40 per cent of all migrants coming here have been Asians. I am not against Asians coming to Australia in reasonable numbers but if the increase in Asian immigration keeps going up at the rate it has been lately in 50 years there will be more Asians than Anglo-Celtic European Australians here. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue. The social engineering of recent years must cease. "
"I do not want Australia to be seen as providing an automatic sanctuary for refugees regardless of where they come from or how they are going to fit into Australian society. It is simply silly to provide for refugees and then pay for them to sue us for compensation for detaining them. No wonder we are the laughing stock of Asia. We must make sure that refugees, in particular, leave their squabbles and feuds at home. The major Asian nations must accept responsibility for Asian refugees."
"Like Councillor Seng, many Asian migrants respect our Australian values. They speak English. They understand how our legal system works. They want the same things for their kids as other Australians--a fair go, a good education and a chance to improve themselves."
"Sir Arvi Parbo is one of the finest examples of what Australia is all about. At the end of World War II we let many European refugees come here. Sir Arvi started work as an underground miner and rose to be chairman of Australia's biggest company, BHP. He is now chairman of Western Mining, one of Australia's biggest mining companies."
"When Sir Arvi Parbo came to Australia, new settlers could come here as long as they agreed to work in the outback and on development projects. The Snowy Mountains scheme was built by migrants and refugees. Sir Arvi has said that this is a good way to get new migrants to help develop Australia. If the bush was good enough for Sir Arvi Parbo, being the place where he started his contribution to Australia, why is it not good enough for today's migrants?"
"It is not so long ago that state education departments made students on bursaries teach in the bush, or anywhere they were sent, until they had paid off their bond. We in Australia should not discriminate on the grounds of race, and by that I mean that everyone should get a fair go."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"Order! Is the member for Watson merely standing or is he seeking to raise a point of order?"
Mr Leo McLeay--"I am seeking to raise a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"The honourable member for Oxley will resume her seat."
Mr Leo McLeay--"My point is that maybe we could have a scintilla of relevance to the bill."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"I thank the honourable member for Watson. I have already interrupted the honourable member for Oxley on that particular point of relevance and invited her to address her remarks to some of the contents of the three bills before the House. It is my intention when she has completed her statement to make an observation for the benefit of many of our new members, but I again suggest to the honourable member for Oxley that she try to get her remarks to the contents of the three bills which are before the House."
Mr Lindsay--"Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I draw your attention to standing order 81, and I agree with the member for Watson. In 12 minutes, there has been no reference at all to the matter under discussion."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"I thank the honourable member for Herbert. The point has already been managed, and I will be referring to you in the observation I make."
Ms HANSON--"By having a fair go, I mean that everyone should have a right to participate in Australian national life. Talking about rights is not enough. This bill talks about citizenship. Citizenship does not mean getting everything Australia has to offer and giving nothing in return. People often talk about their rights, but what about their responsibilities to Australia?"
"It is silly to talk about rights without talking about responsibilities. No-one should get a free ride. People who get something from Australia should be prepared to give something back. Australian citizenship is a great privilege and we have a right to expect more from citizenship than staying here for two years and then mumbling a few words. This is why I moved a bill to tighten up the oath of allegiance to Australia by prospective citizens, but I was supported by only one other member of this House, the member for Moore (Mr Filing). So I ask: where is the concern that should be shown by other members to ensure that migrants are prepared to give this country their undivided loyalty?"
"Citizenship means something to most new Australians. It should mean something to all Australians, new and old. It is time we stopped seeing Australian citizenship as a gift we dole out to anyone who wants it. We should start making people earn their citizenship as they should understand that they have to give their loyalty to Australia before all else."
"We could sell Australian citizenship on the open market for hundreds of thousands of dollars if we wanted to. We have a right as Australians to ask all whom we welcome into this country to make an effort to become Australians like all other Australians. I urge the government to listen to the people. We are here to represent them, not ourselves."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Nehl)--"Before calling the next speaker in this debate, as I indicated I wish to make an observation, in particular to the large number of new members who have entered this place since 2 March. It seems to have failed to penetrate their collective minds that there are very strict standing orders on the rules of debate in this place: when you get the call to speak on a bill, the obligation is to speak on the contents of that bill."
"I must say that, in the period the member for Oxley spent on her speech, I do not believe she touched the contents of any of the three bills. I was going to make the point as well to the member for Herbert that his observations on the industrial development of Townsville with some form of Korean investment, on which he spoke in the first five minutes of his contribution, were not relevant to the bills either. So I do make the observation to all members, but in particular to the newer members who have been here now for one week over nine months and by now should know that they have an obligation to be relevant when speaking to bills and to speak only about the contents of the bills."
Mr Martin--"On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker: as to the very learned statement that you have just made, I wonder whether you might inform the House and those of us who are going to speak a little later in this debate whether those particular observations you have made will limit some of the comments that other members might want to make in response to other issues that have been raised so far in this debate."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"I thank the member for Cunningham, and I make the point that in this place there is generally a large degree of tolerance afforded to members, particularly where debates have been wide ranging. While I cannot offer any guarantees to the honourable member, or to anybody else, I think it is fair to say that those of us who occupy this chair try to do so with fairness, tolerance and equity. In that case, we will judge as the case goes by. We expect all members to be relevant in their contributions, but the chair will exercise the standing orders with fairness and tolerance. "
Mr Lindsay--"On indulgence--I would respectfully say to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the opportunities to speak in this House for a backbencher are quite limited."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"That is not relevant. Resume your seat."
Mrs Gallus--"Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is almost three o'clock, and I wondered whether you wished me to commence speaking at this time."
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER--"I certainly acknowledge the submission from the honourable member for Hindmarsh, and I think she has some justice in what she is trying to say. The honourable member for Hindmarsh might move that the debate be adjourned."
Debate (on motion by Mrs Gallus) adjourned.
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