Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to raise the issue of the moralistic persecution being committed across our society. This persecution is not being committed against people for their heritage or their age, nor for their sexuality or location; this persecution is being committed on the basis of people's thoughts and words. Freedom of expression and freedom of thought are two ideals held as absolute by many Australians, which is why it is so disappointing to hear so many cases of the 'thought police' attacking Australians. Personal freedom is the purest example of what separates great nations like Australia from the brutal regimes we despise. Lately, we have seen institutions which should be castles that foster the contest of ideas taking steps to silence those who don't agree with the Marxist ideals of the Left.

I, for one, am proud to stand in this place as a woman and do not take offence at anyone assuming that I'm a woman. Efforts to remove 'Father's Day' from our calendars, 'mankind' from our achievements and 'grandmothers' from our children are joining efforts by a noisy minority to wipe the pioneering history of this country from our collective memory. It is not good enough to inflict pain and shame on someone who has intended no harm, nor is it okay to deny the huge efforts of those who founded this nation. Our society is conducive to challenging debate and should certainly not be persecuting those who hold the traditional ideals that have delivered so much for this nation.