Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Evans. I refer the minister to reports about the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, who wrote to Muslim ALP members claiming that Councillor Omar Jamal deceived local Muslims and compared him to Anwar el-Sadat in a reference to the belief of some Arabic people that the late Egyptian president had betrayed Palestinians in 1975. Does the minister believe that his parliamentary secretary’s actions make him a suitable person to represent multicultural communities in Australia?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Does the minister condone such a denigration of Mr Omar Jamal, a local councillor with Muslim beliefs?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The correspondence was made by the parliamentary secretary, Laurie Ferguson, in relation to matters in his electorate. Those are his views—he expresses them forthrightly, as always. He, obviously, has to be accountable for those views. But, as I understand it, he is more than willing to be accountable for those views. In terms of his role as my parliamentary secretary, he has got tremendous experience in the area of multicultural affairs, has great contacts, and has a long-term interest in these matters, as people on the other side have conceded in the past. He is very active in the portfolio and I think is proving to be very effective.