Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand in this chamber today to say clearly, without hesitation and without any qualification, that racism and Neo-Nazism have no place in this country—not in our streets, not in our institutions, not in our public discourse and not in our future. Recent events in this country have shown us why this message must be stated so plainly. Whether it's the stunts that we've seen like those in the Senate this week or the groups of Neo-Nazis brazenly marching through our cities, chanting some of the same slogans that Hitler used and other things that I won't list, the fact that these displays occurred at all is an affront to our national values and an insult to every community that has suffered from hatred, discrimination and organised violence. We have seen hateful attacks on the Jewish community, the Muslim community and First Nations communities. These incidents aren't just fringe. They aren't just protests. They are not misunderstandings, political disagreements or cultural differences. They are expressions of ideologies built on dehumanisation, and they are disgusting. They are ideologies responsible for some of the worst atrocities in human history. Racism and Neo-Nazism are designed to divide, to degrade, to exclude and ultimately to harm. They disgracefully operate by painting some people as less human and others as superior. They thrive on fear, lies and violence.

We live in a truly multicultural society. We are a nation built by many cultures, languages and stories. Our history, from over 65,000 years ago to today, is filled with stories of struggle, of joy, of resilience and of community—Sudanese nurses, Vietnamese grocers, Indian engineers, Lebanese artists, Aboriginal agriculturalists. We are the most successful multicultural country in the world, combined with the oldest continuous culture, and that is something to truly celebrate. There is absolutely no room for racism here. We stand with modern Australia against hate, against racism, against Neo-Nazism and against white supremacy. Nothing could be less Australian.

This government remains firmly committed to ensuring that extremist ideologies that promote hate or violence are never normalised in our society. In February, the Australian parliament passed the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Act, containing the toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes. These laws matter because, unchecked, hatred can quickly turn into violence, and we've seen the devastating impacts of this.

We are not a perfect nation, but we are a nation that overwhelmingly rejects hate. When racism or fascist ideology appears, we must recognise it for what it is: it is a poison, a danger and a direct threat to who we are and who we aspire to be. We reject racism outright. We reject antisemitism outright. We reject white supremacy outright. We reject Neo-Nazism outright. We stand with all Australians who share the views and the values of fairness, justice and equity for everyone.