Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to reaffirm my commitment to the rights of all Australians to enjoy equal rights and to be treated with equal respect, regardless of race, creed, colour or origin. Equal rights and personal freedom are fundamental ideals of Australian society, fought for by our soldiers in so many theatres of war across the globe. Despite a long proud history of tolerance and acceptance there is still—and always will be—more to do.

While the bare-faced discrimination of the early days of Australian settlement has virtually banished from our society, as we stand here today, there is still more work to be done. As the Prime Minister said in his speech:

Our achievement in creating a harmonious nation is not an accident. It has been carefully crafted, and it must be nurtured. And a necessary precondition for harmony is security.

It is this security that binds our entire society and allows it to be so diverse. Security is easily identified in ways we interact with the rest of the globe.

We have a history, and I think a proud history, of supporting the rights of those who are in peril through military action. In the First World War as a new nation we saw European countries—and it would eventually have led to our own country—under threat by the Germans. Our war started in New Guinea, where the Germans had a pretty strong base in Rabaul and other parts of New Guinea. Our first recorded deaths in World War I were in Rabaul, when five Australian soldiers were killed. But they did achieve what they set out to do: take over the communications that controlled all of the Pacific Islands. We then went on to Gallipoli, North Africa and those dreadful trench wars in France. But it was aggression that helped the Western world and the islands achieve their independence.

The Second World War was similar, with German aggression again, including the extermination of millions of people based on their race. That was sad but we responded to the call. Those people now have the freedom that they longed for back then. They have it to a degree now.

Vietnam was our stance against the spread of communism and people being persecuted. Whether the Vietnam War was one we could have kept out of is up to the individual to make their own mind about, and there are two schools of thought. We thought we were doing the right thing by going in and helping the Vietnamese retain their freedom. With the current Middle Eastern wars, Australia has taken to assisting those whose rights and safety are under siege.

Work continues to this day with the ADF against the scourge of IS. Australians can stand proud in the knowledge that their military tradition has fought for the rights of people when called upon, time after time. That security is also identified in Operation Sovereign Borders. There are two ways to come into Australia as an immigrant or refugee: the legal way and the illegal way. By keeping our borders secure, we take the market away from the criminal human-traffickers, thus allowing a more generous inflow of safe, legitimate, security-checked refugees.

While the media likes to throw doubt at Australian society's acceptance of newcomers, I think the best indicator of our acceptance is just how keen migrant families are to become Australian citizens. All of us in this House attend regular citizenship ceremonies in our different locations. Each month, if I am available, I attend citizenship ceremonies at Gladstone and in other parts of my electorate of Flynn—Emerald and so forth—and I am taken aback by the passion and love that the so-called new Australians have for our community. I think these ceremonies are one of the greatest events you can attend as a politician. You see the expressions on their face change as the words 'You are now an Aussie, mate' are said. I think it is proof of how proud these people are to leave their countries of birth and come to a place called 'Australia'. They had never been here before. Maybe they had some family members who have been here. In essence, they had not been on Australian soil. They are here for the first time and they embrace the nation of Australia.

For the majority of them, all they want to do is become good Aussies, work hard and achieve what they could not achieve in their place of birth. These people often do so in order to escape terrible dangers, and they hope to make a new life in a safe and secure country. By offering them security and safety, we are able to welcome those new Aussies and the new economic windfall that they bring with them. That is where Australia benefits. We need these immigrants, on a regular basis. We are an ageing nation and we need these people to look after people like me when we go into retirement in the next few years. They will replace the baby boomers. They are an essential part of our immigration policy.

This government is committed to equal rights and constitutional acknowledgement of Indigenous Australians. Recognition is overdue, and it is not helped by distracting comments from those opposite about a treaty. I think if we leave things as they are, everything will be fine. Recognition is an important step, but it is improving the life outcomes for all Indigenous Australians that will make a measurable difference to them and to Australia. Through poor health outcomes, Indigenous Australians have a lifespan that is, on average, 10 years shorter than for those in the non-Indigenous population. This is something that all governments must address.

This comes back to safety and security. The Prime Minister was talking about every Australian. Every visitor needs security. By continuing the fight for security and safety this nation and its people will continue to see Australia as a welcoming and sought-after destination. My family, the O'Dowds, came from Ireland in 1949, just before the so-called Great Famine—the potato famine. It was a famine—the potatoes were diseased—but the English, who then ruled Ireland, sought to shut off all the fishing holes and lakes, exported the lamb and beef to England and let 5½ million Irish people die on the streets of Ireland. That is how my family came to Australia—to escape the famine of 1850.

In those days, it was the Catholics against the Protestants. As a young child, I can remember that the Catholics and the Protestants were separated in religious classes in the tiny little schools they used to go to. That is a fact. Trinity College had an interesting story in Dublin. Trinity College is still there. It is a very old school and it was only for the Protestants. For hundreds of years, the Catholics fought to be able to attend Trinity College. When they finally got self-government, in 1920, they were told: 'Okay, you can now go to Trinity College.' The Irish response to that was, 'It's good to know that we can go there, but we don't want to go there now.'

An honourable member: To be sure!

To be sure! With that, I would like to endorse what we are here to talk about, and that is freedom for all, regardless of race, creed, colour or origin. Thank you very much.

See this speech in context