Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today, I was proud to see one of the Australian flags that fly above this building on display in the great hall, hosted by your good self, Mr Speaker. Thank you. This coincided with Australian National Flag Day, marking 124 years since our flag was first officially flown on 3 September 1901. Our flag is more than a piece of blue, red and white cloth. It is a symbol of sacrifice, national identity and unity. More than 100,000 Australians have fought and died under our flag. In times of peace and war, it has bound us together.

I've personally been disgusted to see that our flag has been defiled. In protests across the nation, it has been burnt and stomped on. Australians are likewise disgusted by these actions and have been alarmed by the waving of foreign flags, including those of terrorist groups like ISIS, the Taliban, Hezbollah and Hamas. Many patriotic Australians have taken notice of this and started to wonder if indeed we are losing our way as a nation. That sense of disillusionment and frustration is real, and I believe it is part of what led ordinary Australians to attend a March for Australia protest yesterday.

Let me be absolutely, abundantly clear—anyone who tries to use the Australian flag to spread hate or division is not a patriot. They are not standing up for our country, and Neo-Nazis must be condemned absolutely. Our diggers fought the Nazis. Embracing this ideology is the opposite of Australian patriotism. But I will say this: I refuse to condemn everyone who attended one of these marches yesterday, like many of those opposite have done. I've heard them in a number of speeches today in this place. I note that they have not been so quick to condemn extremists in the pro-Palestinian camp. I'll leave people to make up their own minds as to why that would be so.

Among the crowds were thousands of good, fair-minded Australians—everyday mums and dads, workers and retirees, people who simply love our country and just want to be heard by their government. To dismiss all of them as hateful or divisive is wrong. The fact is that these rallies would not have attracted the same crowds if they had been organised a few years ago. Australians are hurting. I have repeatedly spoken about the rising cost of living impacting families, small businesses and young Australians in particular, who have almost given up on ever owning their own homes.

For most, I think this wasn't about demonising anyone. This was about calling on the government to have a sensible approach to migration. One man who marched in Brisbane outlined on Channel 9 a sentiment which I believe would reflect the view of most Australians. He said: 'I love migration, okay? I'm from a family of immigrants as well. The point is how many you bring in the country. Where do you house them?' And I think that is a very worthy question to ask. In less than 10 years, my home state of WA has gone from having a population of less than 2.5 million people to a population of over three million people. Most of that growth has been driven by overseas migration. This wouldn't be so bad if housing supply, infrastructure and the hospital system were keeping up with this growth, but they simply are not.

When I raise Labor's reckless migration, I don't seek to demonise migrants—far from it. I do not blame anyone who wants to come here. After all, we are the greatest country in the world. Why wouldn't you want to come here? We have also long benefited from a steady migration program. Our multicultural character is one of the defining qualities of our great country. I think most people who marched would share that sentiment. I think their anger is directed solely at the Albanese Labor government for not managing the migration program properly. Our prime minister promised to be a leader who would take responsibility. Yet he has not once conceded that his reckless increase of the migration program is making life harder for all Australians. The challenge before us is not to lecture or to condemn but to listen and to respond, to restore faith that this country can once again be a place where a young person can dream of buying their own home, raising their family and building their future in a nation that is united, not divided, and that Australia is still the lucky country.