Malcolm Turnbull says Islamist terrorists have succeeded in raising levels of anxiety about Muslim immigration and about the role of Islam within Australia, but he says political leaders have to reassure and “explain the facts” rather than add to disunity.
The prime minister joined on Monday with the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, in moving a parliamentary motion denouncing “racial intolerance in any form” and reaffirming Australia’s commitment to a non-discriminatory immigration policy.
Monday’s parliamentary debate follows Pauline Hanson’s declaration in her first speech to the Senate in mid-September that Australia was in danger of being swamped by Muslims, and an Essential poll that found 49% of Australians support One Nation’s call for a ban on Muslim immigration.
Turnbull in his contribution validated community concerns about Islam, saying they were real, but he said the job of political leadership was to “explain the facts, reassure citizens and ensure that everything we do is calculated to keep Australians safe”.
He said extremists were a “a tiny minority whose madness offends and appals Australian Muslims as much as it does the wider Australian community”.
“Mr Speaker, the terrorists want the wider Australian community to turn against Australian Muslims. Their message to Australian Muslims is, ‘You are not wanted here, you will never be accepted here, you cannot be Australian.’
“The most effective weapon against the terrorists is an inclusive nation. An inclusive nation is a safer nation. It enables our security agencies to better protect us. It enables them to secure the support and assistance of the Muslim communities without which they cannot keep us safe.”
Monday’s parliamentary motion, which was suggested by Shorten in the last parliamentary sitting but deferred until this week on the basis it would be moved jointly, echoes a gesture made 20 years ago by John Howard and Kim Beazley when Hanson first entered the political scene.
The motion reaffirms the right of all Australians to enjoy equal rights and be treated with equal respect regardless of race, colour, creed or origin and it denounces “racial intolerance in any form as incompatible with the kind of society we are and want to be”.
It also reaffirms the commitment to maintaining an immigration policy “wholly non-discriminatory on grounds of race, colour, creed or origin”.
The motion also references parliament’s commitment to the process of reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, “in the context of redressing their profound social and economic disadvantage” – and it says the parliament is committed to maintaining Australia as a culturally diverse, tolerant and open society, united by an overriding commitment to our nation, and its democratic institutions and values.
In his contribution to the debate, Shorten contended with Hansonism more explicitly, declaring Australia was not in danger of being “swamped” by anyone.
“Migrants are not filling our dole queues, or taking our jobs, or clogging up our highways – or doing all three at the same time,” the Labor leader said. “Migration is not a cost, or a burden. It is a powerful force for our continuing economic growth and future prosperity.”
Shorten said political leaders had a responsibility to unite the nation, not divide it. Politicians, he said, needed to “do more than mouth words of respect – we must thoroughly and publicly reject racism”.
“There is no place in Australia for extremism, no matter the party, no matter the agenda,” the Labor leader said. “And as leaders, we cannot choose to pass by on the other side of the road.
“We are our brother’s, our sister’s keepers. We have to call out prejudice whenever we see it: in this parliament, in the workplace, on the sporting field and in the media.”
Shorten said countering extremism depended on building societal cohesion, and he again pointed to what he characterised as “a bizarre unity ticket between Daesh and the extreme right”.
“Both argue that it is not possible to hold western liberal democratic values – and be Muslim. Both say, somehow, you cannot be a Muslim and a good citizen.
“This shows no understanding of Australia – or the remarkable contribution our Muslim community makes. People need to realise when they set up this false choice – or allow it to go unchallenged – they are doing Daesh’s work.”
Labor is also pursuing a code of race ethics, echoing an initiative advanced by the ALP and the Australian Democrats during the period Hanson was last in parliament. The new code is likely to be discussed by the Labor caucus on Tuesday.
The previous code of race ethics was pursued by the then Labor senator Margaret Reynolds and the Democrat senator John Woodley in 1996, prompted by concern about the debate about racism that erupted in that year’s election campaign.
The code required parliamentarians to sign on to a set of principles, including respect for religious and cultural diversity, supporting tolerance and justice within a multicultural society, and “to speak and write in a manner which provides factual commentary on a foundation of truth about all issues being debated in the community and the parliament”.