Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I love the Christmas season. There's excitement in the air. Plans are afoot for get-togethers with family and good friends. The sparkle of lights and brightly lit Christmas trees is everywhere. In my community—the vibrant, multicultural community of Moreton—there is an added sparkle, as the diverse mix of cultures that call Brisbane Southside home celebrate the festive season in their own way. I love that about my community, and I'm looking forward to sampling many festivities in the coming weeks. If I were to make one wish for my community this Christmas, it would be that everyone—no matter their skin colour, their religion or their politics—is treated with respect, whether they are the fifth generation to be born in Australia, they've just arrived or they're First Nations people.

Sadly, that is not always the case. It is up to everyone, every day, to demonstrate that respect and kindness. It is especially incumbent upon those of us who have a public profile to set an example. I was shocked this week to see a video of some young Liberal National Party members in a staged video spruiking horrid racist rhetoric. It was shocking for several reasons. One: these are young Australians living in one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world. Two: these young people are members of a mainstream political organisation, the party that occupies government benches in this House. Three: these young people are very connected to the Liberal and National parties in Queensland and federally. One of them is the Gold Coast Young LNP chairman; another is the Gold Coast Young LNP vice-chair. They and some of the others in the video have appeared on social media with the Queensland opposition leader Ms Frecklington, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the federal member for Petrie, the federal member for Dickson and the Prime Minister himself. Their conduct was appalling, and it cannot be condoned. It should be condemned. People may try to make excuses for them—that they're young and stupid and that they'd been drinking—but their behaviour should be called out, especially by political leaders. We shouldn't make excuses for blatant racism ever. When young adults like those in the video—and I don't know what their individual circumstances are, but they're likely from relatively privileged backgrounds—puff out their chests and proudly display such brazen racism, it needs to be called out by those in a position to do so.

I congratulate Queensland minister Leeanne Enoch for immediately calling it out for what it was—racism. We haven't seen an apology from the Queensland Liberal National Party's state leader so far. I'm sure that will be coming. I hope that will be coming! We haven't seen an apology from the Prime Minister or any of the other Liberal or National party members in this House who are closely connected with these Young LNP members. When it comes to racism, we're judged by the behaviour that we're prepared to walk past, and none of us—none of us—should walk past this sort of racism and let young people get away with it. We should call it out every single time.