Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak on this important issue, and I thank the member for Macnamara for his very important contribution. This motion calls for better political debate and for making sure that race and ethnicity are not used as a political tool in this place, especially when it comes to populist positioning. It's absolutely vital that we elevate the national debate in this place and call out when race and ethnicity are being used as a political tool to polarise a debate, often relying on misinformation. As democratic representatives, we should strive to provide leadership on difficult issues and learn, from history, of the danger of using division for political gain.

In my maiden speech to this place, in 2019, I said:

While this may be a place of robust debate, it is time for a more respectful approach, and accountability.

That remains as true today as it was five years ago, and, sadly, the tenor of the debate has too often not improved sufficiently and certainly not met the level that our communities expect. The Set the standard report illustrated that we have a lot of work to do to reform the culture in this place. The Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, on which I sit, has worked diligently to implement the recommendations of Set the standard, and another key recommendation will be actioned this week with debate on the bill to establish the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission.

But, ultimately, culture has a way to go and can't just be about recommendations and reports. We've seen the implementation of the Stop it at the Start campaign, which seeks to tackle disrespect and asks young Australians to consider disrespect and to call it out. This is pivotal in this crisis of domestic violence that we have. But, as the member for Mackellar has said, we also need a campaign to stop it at the top. Disrespect starts from the leadership; it's given permission when leadership shows disrespect.

A few weeks ago the level of noise, interjection and yelling that I and others experienced in this chamber was nothing like I've experienced in any professional environment and was totally unacceptable. Many of us on the crossbench frequently experience that behaviour, and it is unacceptable in any other workplace, so it should be in this place. Yelling, snide remarks, interruptions and even intimidating behaviour on the floor of the House during divisions—this is just incredibly unacceptable. Parliamentary behaviour needs to be modelled from the top, from party leaders, deputy leaders, senior government and shadow ministers, and whips. Disrespect is not robust debate.

I was seeking to bring, at the time, a human face to the refugee debate that in this place is too often based on misinformation and fearmongering. The opposition's motion sought to target vulnerable Palestinian refugees in a way that we have not targeted any other group fleeing a war zone. I was calling for a humanitarian response to a conflict, for people seeking safety. That issue, as the member for Kooyong and the member for Macnamara have identified, is tearing at the fabric of our social cohesion because it is so polarising and so raw and emotional, and it's so important that race and ethnicity is not used in such a situation.

We do need to talk about racism in our society. Too often, calling out racism is castigated more than racist conduct itself. For those experiencing racism it is deeply traumatising and is a harmful experience. It harms social cohesion and it is a threat to national security. It's telling that those offended by racism being called out are too often not the ones who actually experience racism. We all pride ourselves on being part of a multicultural society, but, because of this multiculturalism and the celebration of it, many believe racism cannot possibly be a major issue, even if it probably exists. Yet a major survey recently conducted by the ABC found that 76 per cent of Australians from a non-European background have experienced racial discrimination based on their ethnicity. We often rightly call out antisemitism and Islamophobia, as many contributors to this debate have identified, but too rarely do we call out racism, especially racist policy.

That's why this is important. Policies that are inherently racist are designed to foster fear and hatred of a minority group, and the fear of the consequences of calling out that racism means the policy itself does not get examined and sufficiently called out, so I think this is important. I hope that we can move on to a more respectful debate in this place but also embrace our multiculturalism in more than just words alone.

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