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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1028 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

We are not saying, "Do not write, Pauline". We are not saying, "This book should not be published". She has every right to do that. But we can show what we consider is important in our community by not encouraging her to take it further and by not purchasing the book. If you want to read it, use a photocopy. I am quite sure she is not concerned about lending rights. In conclusion, I would just like to say that, as members of this Assembly, as members of the ACT community, it is important that we take a stand. It is important that we show leadership on this issue. If the ACT does not, we have problems in the whole of Australia.

MS McRAE (11.48): Mr Speaker, I could not care less about Pauline Hanson. As far as I am concerned, she is one of a stream of people who have espoused ugly views about other people and somehow found a platform and spread hate and unpleasantness. She is not on her own. There are many people in Australia who have done this, and many people who have tried to do this. It is nothing new. We heard a little of it in our own Assembly not all that long ago.

What I am concerned about is this: Why is she listened to? I think there is one answer at the very least. If you put in conservative governments all over Australia, this is the rubbish you get. It began with Philip Ruddock, and it began with Philip Ruddock before the election. Let us spell this out for what it is. Let us not walk away from what it is. It is a political mind-shift in Australia which began with Philip Ruddock. What did Philip Ruddock do? He walked away from bipartisanship on immigration. He was the first one to point the finger and say, "Oh, no; we have been with you, Labor Party, all these years; we have been trying to control racism with the Labor Party all these years. We have been working together. But now that there is a sniff of a win in the air, now that there is a bit of agitation in the air, we are walking away".

Before the election we already had a very good measure of what was coming to Australia. Suddenly, immigration levels were too high. Suddenly, the support for immigrants was too high. Suddenly, the support that people rightly got when they came to Australia - and people are invited to come to Australia - was taken away. Suddenly, refugees were treated as some sorts of lepers who did not deserve support. Suddenly, people who came on the basis of family reunion could not seek out social security payments. Who started it? Mr Philip Ruddock.

What was the next step? Who gave permission to point the finger at blacks? It was not Pauline Hanson.

Mr Humphries: Who was it?

MS McRAE: It was your very own Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. What did the good Dr Herron do? The very good Dr Herron was there for only two minutes and, hey presto, everyone in ATSIC was a crook. Special auditors had to be brought in. These dreadful blacks could not be trusted. Nobody else had a special audit. Nobody else had everything turned upside down. No, no, no. Dr Herron was not there two minutes and what did he do? He instantly sent in the auditors and wanted to abolish ATSIC, and still does. It was not Pauline Hanson who began that, "Do not trust the Aborigines in Australia; they cannot manage money"; it was our very own conservative Government. This is what you get if you have conservative governments in Australia.

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