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

Thank you very much, Mr President. I'm glad you are really interested in what I have to say because every Australian should be. It annoys the heck out of me and a lot of Australian people that the Greens have more interest in what's happening around the world and in other countries than they do in the people here in Australia. As I have said, in the Northern Territory, you've got the sexual abuse of children, babies, and what is done about it? Is everyone screaming about that in this chamber? There's nothing. You're all quiet.

You're worried about these children over there. There are nine left there and you're worried about them. Do you know what they're doing? They're shopping for doctors. They get on Skype, they find a doctor that appeals to them and then they go to the judge at one o'clock in the morning. I say, 'What is happening to these people?' We don't even have that in Australia for the Australian people. They've got 61 doctors over there. There is one doctor to every eight refugees. I can't even get doctors out to rural and regional areas in Australia. We're providing that number of doctors at a cost of $450 million a year to the taxpayers?

These are not people who came here; these are people who have been denied coming here to Australia. Not only that but our obligation to them is on a welfare and medical basis. We have provided those. We have spent the taxpayers' dollars building a hospital wing on Nauru for these people. They had been taken to Taiwan. Some went while others refused to go there saying, 'We are coming to Australia because they are so soft over there.' Once they get to this country, they want to stay here.

You know what the Australian people tell me they get annoyed about? The Australian people are fed up with seeing refugees being given preference over Australians for hospitals, for housing, for welfare, for everything. The Australian people are fed up with it. They want to be looked after themselves. We are taxpaying Australians here and these people, who are economic refugees, have cost Australian taxpayers. They paid their way to get into this country.

This is about border protection. This is about looking after our borders. What did Kevin Rudd say? He confirmed that, if they are found to be genuine refugees, they will be resettled in Papua New Guinea. You're going to open up the floodgates. If you allow this to happen, you will open up the floodgates for more people to come here. There are 14,000 waiting in Indonesia to come here to Australia. I reiterate what I said: the Greens are absolutely disgusting and their attitude towards the Australian people is that they are more concerned about other people around the world. If that's your attitude then get out of this place because you don't deserve to be a representative of the Australian people. I believe that, if there are truly children in need of help, that help has been given to them by the 61 doctors there—more help than we give to Australian citizens.

I say to the people here: you are representatives of the people of Australia first and foremost. Don't try and be the representatives for the world. Look after your own people here. That's all they're crying out for. Understand their needs and concerns, get them medical assistance and get doctors to rural and regional Australia because that is where we need the help and assistance and stop worrying about everyone around the world. Clean up our own backyard first. That's what the Australian people want: to clean up our own backyard first.