Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One year ago, I rose to add my voice to a growing chorus of voices warning of a slippery slope of political correctness and socialist virtue signalling. Today, these threats to our way of life are more widespread and universally rampant than ever. About this time last year, the Queensland Department of Education issued a directive to stop primary school children giving each other Christmas cards featuring Christian symbols, including pictures of baby Jesus. Then, in December, we saw major retailers choosing to market Christmas trees as 'white forest trees', thinking the word 'Christmas' might offend.

Then, in January, it was announced that Commonwealth Games volunteers should not be saying the words 'ladies and gentlemen' or 'boys and girls', as these terms might cause offence. Then Australia Day became a virtue-signalling opportunity for left-wing councils, who sought to deny Australians their day of national pride and celebration by seeking to shift citizenship ceremonies to another day. Then, as Easter approached, social media activists were out there in force, openly campaigning to take the cross off hot cross buns, again because it might offend non-Christians.

In May, news broke that councils in Victoria were considering a ban on Thomas the Tank Engine andWinnie-the-Pooh, on the perverted presumption that these books provide a poor direction to children on gender. In June, the Greens had yet another go at abolishing the Lord's Prayer from Senate sittings. Just nine days ago it was reported that the Australian Defence Force Academy issued a guide instructing personnel, including officer trainees, not to use offensive gender terms like 'him' and 'her'. Only yesterday, eight left-wing mayors claimed that there wasn't an African gang problem in Melbourne, despite 50-plus African youths rioting in Taylors Hill last Wednesday, terrifying residents and smashing police cars.

So there you have it. We are one year on from my first raising concerns about the slippery slope of political correctness, and it continues. We need to speak plainly and openly about this descent into madness. We need to call it out. Despite those opposite calling, even in these few minutes, against what I've just spoken about, we need to be very clear that there is a slippery slope. Every time we allow it to happen, we dilute our values as a country and we weaken our way of life, and that's a threat we need to take seriously.