Extract from the WEEKLY HOUSE HANSARD Database Date: 31 October 1996 (17:45)
Ms HANSON (Oxley) (5.49 p.m.)--"I make no apology for my absence from the House yesterday. Prior arrangements had been made. I am appalled that the government and the opposition moved a motion which was clearly directed at me and indirectly at the Australian people."
The motion stated:
"That this House reaffirms its commitment to the right of all Australians to enjoy equal rights and be treated with equal respect regardless of race, colour, creed or origin."
"This is exactly what I am fighting for. How can the House possibly move this motion and still have a separate portfolio for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders which is clearly based on race?"
The motion further stated:
"Reaffirms its commitment to the process of reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in the context of redressing their profound social and economic disadvantage."
"I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. I have never personally attacked Aboriginals or Torres Strait Islanders. I have only ever attacked the system--the system that has failed them so miserably; the system that has had billions of dollars spent on it; the system that is, in effect, killing them. Why, with all the billions of Australian taxpayer dollars that have been spent on it, are the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people worse off now than they were 20 years ago?"
The motion further stated:
"That this House reaffirms its commitment to maintaining an immigration policy wholly non-discriminatory on grounds of race, colour, creed or origin."
"There should be a moratorium on all immigration until we clean up own backyard and get our unemployment down to five per cent. On the question of Asian immigration, I refer to the speech I delivered in Melbourne recently. I am not saying that I want all Asian immigration to cease. There has always been an Asian presence in Australia and there always will be. All I want is the balance restored."
The motion further stated:
"That this House reaffirms its commitment to maintaining Australia as a culturally diverse, tolerant and open society, united by an over-riding commitment to our nation, and its democratic institutions and values."
"I again refer to my speech delivered in Melbourne:"
"I must stress, especially for my critics, that I am totally aware of the great contributions made to this country by migrants, especially during the last 100 years. Many of the stories are inspiring and should be provided as examples for new settlers to follow. Men and women have come to this country with nothing but hope and the ability to work hard. They could see the wonderful opportunities and carved out careers and, in many cases, fortunes, for themselves and their families."
"Most of these people had one thing in common. They joined in. They did not stand back on the fringe of the Australian community, expecting special privileges. These people became Australians, body and soul and many of them died for their new homeland. Their memories will live on forever."
The motion further stated:
"That this House denounces racial intolerance in any form as incompatible with the kind of society we are and want to be."
"I repeat the words `the kind of society we are and want to be'. Mainstream Australia must be allowed to have a say in how this country will look in 100 years time. We owe this to future generations. If the members of this House are so confident that they are echoing the views of mainstream Australia, they should let mainstream Australia have its say. I call on the government to have a referendum on immigration and multiculturalism. I reiterate a paragraph of my maiden speech to this House on 10 September 1996:"
"I must stress at this stage that I do not consider those people from ethnic backgrounds currently living in Australia anything but first-class citizens, provided of course that they give this country their full, undivided loyalty."
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