Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

There are members of our community who are worried about the cost of housing, the cost of living and how they're going to cover next month's bills, and dealing with those issues in a responsible way, holding government to account where they need to be held to account and asking questions of bureaucrats that are legitimate and need to be asked is what this place is meant to do. But using vulnerable members of our community and migrants as a scapegoat for inequality is pathetic. It's cheap politics and it's weak. That's what One Nation does, and that's what this motion is all about.

Now, I would have thought that, after this weekend's rally, the display and glorification of people who have killed police officers and the glorification of Neo-Nazis, there would be some reflection on what this is doing to our community and our society, but the only reflection we seem to getting from One Nation today is their rubbing their hands in glee and their wanting more of it. They are feeding on this nastiness, on this division, on this fear. I mean, if they had it their way we would have here in Australia the race riots that the US have had. They'd be cheering it on. We are not America. Australia is built on multiculturalism. Our nation is diverse, but you can't take that for granted. We can't take it for granted. It is something that you nurture and look after and protect. We don't always agree on everything—of course not. That's why we're a democracy. We are able to debate things. We should be able to debate things without sinking to the level of dividing people by the colour of their skin or where they were born.

This brings me to the person in the other place, Mr Bob Katter, who I think today showed a total lack of judgement in doubling-down on his aggressive threat of violence to an Australian journalist for simply asking about his immigration policies and his background. Now, I put it to you that, if this was any other member in this place, this wouldn't be just laughed off as, 'Bob Katter; that's him.' Mr Katter's behaviour on Friday, threatening violence to a journalist for simply asking a question, is unacceptable. He should either apologise or resign. The idea of doubling-down on this means he's missed the point. I would have thought that, since the weekend's horror show, he may have reflected a little bit on his own contribution to whipping up these fears and division, but he clearly hasn't. Tonight I say that Mr Katter should apologise to that journalist or he should step down. If we start in this country down the road where politicians can threaten violence at journalists for asking pesky questions they don't like or individuals shooting cops dead is not called out but, in fact, glorified, then we are heading down a very, very dangerous path. I don't for one moment suggest that any one party or any one person in this place has it right all the time. I don't believe we do. But I do think that, with the incidents of the last week—whether it is the shooting of innocent police officers, the threatening of journalists or the glorification of neo-Nazi politics on our streets—we have a moment right now where we have to think about what kind of country we want to be—and, I tell you what, it's not this. This is not the type of future we want for Australia. I respectfully ask One Nation to stop using vulnerable people and migrants as whipping boys and girls and scapegoats.