Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do apologise—or Senator Hinch. I'm sure they won't support me on this issue, because I don't believe they have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what they truly believe and represent the Australian people. If you're going to have some say in this, put up the facts and debate them. Let the people be heard and have their say before we lose our country. The problems that I can see in the future are huge, and they need to be debated now. We need to discuss them now, here on the floor of parliament. Stop burying them. Stop thinking that we don't have a problem out there. As we see more Muslims coming into this country, especially those with full-face coverings, we need this legislation so that we have full facial recognition. They need to assimilate and integrate into our society, which they are not. That is the problem with the whole lot. We are seeing from that they are bringing in their other views with genital mutilation. We've seen the problems that is causing in our hospitals, reversal of these—they're not operations—for these young girls and women. Is this a culture that we really want here?

We think about the Muslims, and people say, 'They're not all bad.' No, they're not, and I totally agree with that. I've spoken to some, a taxi driver, and he said, 'You are so right.' We need to stop the Islamisation of Australia. We do need to ban it. He said, 'I was a Muslim. I am no longer, but my uncles told my father he must murder me because I've left the religion.' So these people are crying out also. There are women out there, I'm sure, who would like to see the burqa banned, then they can discard the garment. Who knows, their men, maybe their fathers, their brothers, their husbands may say, 'Well, you can't come outside the house.' These poor women! We have fought for women's rights in this country. We have fought for women to have the vote. We have fought for women's rights. Yet you're not prepared to stand up and fight for the rights of these women, who are probably made to wear these garments? You men have no idea. It's not going to impact on you. You can do and say whatever you want to do, but what about the women's rights out there? Have you considered that?

Some of these women say, 'I've got no problem with the hijab, the scarf.' That's fair enough; a lot of countries wear it; but let's look at the whole fact. Let the people have their say on this and stop shutting down debate and having a go at people because they might put up some commonsense points about this whole thing. And look at the book. I will say it again if anyone wants to read it: read Now They Call Me Infidelby Nonie Darwish. Or read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book Infidel. Listen to these women who have been controlled by Islam and are no longer with it. They are trying to warn us. Listen to what they have to say. I commend the bill to the house.