Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister offered no condemnation of that bill. Hansard will record that the member for Flinders has misrepresented my remarks. There was no assurance from the Prime Minister that he would direct the members of the coalition parties he leads to stand down. What a failure of leadership from our Prime Minister. What weakness!

The Prime Minister has also failed to show leadership on the debate about the burqa, so irresponsibly opened up by the Liberal backbenchers, including the member for Dawson, George Christensen, and the usual suspect, Senator Bernardi. At a time when Muslim women feel, because of their dress, particularly conspicuous and vulnerable to attack and to discrimination, these two Liberals have done their best to exacerbate that fear. Appallingly, they have used the megaphones that they hold as federal politicians to single out Australian Muslim women as different, even dangerous.

Incredibly, the Prime Minister has shamefully encouraged this kind of bullying of part of the Australian community. It was reported in the press earlier this week that his own office had supported the member for Dawson in his efforts. When the issue was put to the Prime Minister, he said:

… I find it a fairly confronting form of attire. Frankly, I wish it was not worn.

The Prime Minister said, 'We can all have an opinion on the issue.' That is certainly the case, but the Prime Minister is not a private citizen. He occupies the highest public office in Australia.

I met with a number of young Muslim leaders this week from my home state of Victoria, and one of the things they impressed on me was that words matter. The words our political leaders use matter. When the Prime Minister prevaricates about whether hate speech should be legal, he sends a message about what is acceptable in our society. When he offers his personal opinion on clothing— (Time expired)

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