Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Although I was born in India near the Pakistani border, and spent my formative years there, as a senator I am a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia. I normally finish my speeches with a reminder to the Senate that we have one flag; we are one community; we are one nation. Today it's necessary to put that reminder up front.

Everything we are as a nation has come from working together. Australia itself resulted from the people of each state agreeing to put aside their differences and become one nation. Success in defending Australia during World War I and World War II resulted from unity: unity of purpose and unity of action. In fact, Australia's immigration slogan at the time was, 'One people, one destiny.' Amen to that.

Our first major test as a nation, Gallipoli, saw 34 brave Aboriginals serving. Twelve lost their lives, part of 8,141 Australian fatalities. Gallipoli cost the lives of 1,359 Indian and Pakistani soldiers fighting alongside Australians. Those casualties were recorded together, as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was not formed until 1947. Our beautiful country was forged through the sacrifice of all who live here, including First Australians and including Pakistanis.

Perhaps this fact is lost on those who seek to inflame hatred and division for political advantage, seeking to concoct victims and in the process disempower those same people. Those coming to this country from Pakistan cannot have forgotten the two million people who were killed, many in the most horrific of circumstances, on all sides, in the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. That slaughter should stand as a warning against dividing our community on the basis of race, religion or genetics, and then setting one against another. We can prevent such horror in Australia. It's as simple as wholeheartedly accepting anyone to our country who accepts Australia wholeheartedly and, in the obverse, showing the door to those who would tear us down.

One does not come to Australia and bring the battles of one's homeland with them. We are seeing that right now in the UK, with running battles between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus on the streets of Leicester. This happens as a result of new arrivals unable to let go of historical battles and of the anger and hatred those still elicit. We are one community because we must be one community. History repeatedly shows nothing else works.

Today 7.7 million Australians were born overseas. I was most honoured recently to attend a citizenship ceremony with the Lord Mayor of Brisbane at City Hall, welcoming new Australians. These were people who love our country, who want to join in with our community and who want to share the gifts Australia has provided for millennia. One Nation embraces people coming to our country to start over, to lift themselves up through their own hard work and endeavour and, through that, lift up all of those already here.

In One Nation's world, religion and skin colour do not matter. Decency matters, honesty matters, integrity matters. Lining one's pockets while whinging about the country that provided the whinger with great wealth is hypocritical and just plain nasty. A favourite quote of mine has its origins in the Talmud, the Jewish holy book: 'We do not see the world as it is; we see the world as we are.' It should be no surprise those who harbour racism and hatred in their hearts would perceive those things in others and construct it in others.

Abuse of our constitutional head of state is abuse of our culture. It's abuse of Australia. In the debate around the republic or colonial history from a bygone era, one will reap what one sows. Department respect begets disrespect; respect begets respect. Those who seek to divide are really seeking to destroy and to then rebuild Australia in their own image, a horrible image full of and indeed bulging with incessant negativity and intolerance, a world of sanctimony, hypocrisy and hate, designed to scare and intimidate voters into supporting policies that on any measure are unsupportable. One Nation will not be dragged down into a vile cesspit given too much oxygen in this place.

The 103,000 Australians who have given their lives for this country would never have imagined their sacrifice against an enemy abroad could now be undermined through the actions of an enemy within. One Nation has always stood against those who would tear down our beautiful country, and we will continue to so stand. Let me say again: we have one flag, we are one community, we are one nation. We are proudly one nation.