Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a privilege for me last week to host a forum attended by a diverse community of Melburnians to talk about the issues facing Muslim Australians. I never feel more welcomed than I do when spending time with Muslim constituents in Melbourne. Yet last week we heard from Muslim Australian leaders—like Bayram Aktepe of the Islamic Council of Victoria—that many people in the community are feeling that they, their friends and their families are being targeted and treated unfairly by police, anti-terror legislation and also by other institutions.

I was moved to hear lawyer Samira Zeno say that, as a law-abiding Australian citizen, she knows that so-called 'terror' laws should mean nothing to her—yet they do. Lawyer Rob Stary told us of his clients' experience with the double standards that exist when it comes to enforcing anti-terror legislation.

I was particularly pleased to welcome to Melbourne Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens MLC in New South Wales and the first female Muslim MP elected in Australia. She is an incredible and talented parliamentarian, yet even she recently faced racial profiling when travelling abroad.

Sadly, reports of Islamophobic incidents continue to come in. This government, with the full support of the opposition, has spent close to a billion dollars on security and police, in the name of fighting terrorism. But where is the community approach? Where is the leadership to say that equality is for everyone, and that we must not create laws that leave Muslim Australians feeling targeted? Where is the understanding that, when a young person is singled out and told that the people they know must pass tests to prove they are not a security problem, of course they will feel excluded and alienated. This conversation is being led by Australia's Muslim community and the government must listen. (Time expired)