David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I might start again. I rise today in support of Senator Thorpe's urgency motion, and I thank her for her continued leadership on this. I repeat my calls for the Albanese Labor government to implement and fund in full the national antiracism framework. This is something that we should see from the government. We know that racism in this country isn't going away. When you speak to people across country, they will say that it is getting worse. We must change that trajectory. It's on all of us in this place to change that trajectory.

I spoke recently in this chamber about local examples of racism that First Nations people here in the ACT have faced, from vile comments directed at respected elders online, to young men being racially profiled and forced at gunpoint off a bus by police. But the racism doesn't end there. This week the parliament is considering legislation motivated by war in the Middle East—legislation that apparently wasn't needed in response to the war in Ukraine. We've passed legislation to combat antisemitism but not racial vilification. That remains parked on the Prime Minister's desk. The government has responded to the recommendations of the report by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, and rightly so, but not to the 54 proposals put forward by the Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia. This must happen, and it needs to happen with urgency.

The Islamophobia Register, which has been in operation for over a decade now, has recorded a steep increase in assaults, abuse and threats, based on reports recorded between January 2023 and November 2024. Muslim Australians here in the ACT tell me that they do not feel safe. Last year a Muslim leader in our community had her hijab ripped off her head in the middle of Canberra. This is completely unacceptable. Yesterday the Australian National Imams Council wrote to parliamentarians asking for our support next Sunday 15 March, the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. I responded to their request today without hesitation.

We need to stand together at this time of increased racism in all its forms. We need to lead with empathy and focus on what brings us together. Today Muslims are in the midst of Ramadan, with Eid approaching. Christians are in the season of Lent. Easter and Orthodox Easter will follow, and Jewish families will then gather for Passover. It's a reminder that, beneath our politics and our differences, we are bound by something deeper—our longing for meaning, for connection and for hope. As Desmond Tutu reminded us, we can only be human together.