Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to pay tribute to Mr Peter Zhuang, who was the Liberal National Party candidate for the seat of Stretton in the Queensland election held on 31 October 2020. People might be questioning why it is that, at this hour, I'm rising to pay tribute to Mr Zhuang, given the state election in Queensland was held some months ago. The reason is this: last weekend the Daily Mail Australia published an apology to him over an article it published on 28 October 2020, and I think it extraordinarily important that we place this apology on the record.

I'm not going to read the content of the article that appeared in the Daily MailAustralia on 28 October 2020 only a few days prior to the state election. I do query who provided the information and briefing to the Daily Mail Australia for the article, but I don't want to give it any more currency. I note that it was shared some 12,000 times, so I'm not prepared to share the article this evening. What I will share is the apology to Peter Zhuang that was published by Daily Mail Australia on 13 March 2021. I note it has 64 shares, not the 12,000 shares the original article had. The apology says:

On 28 October 2020, we published two articles about Peter Zhuang, who was a Liberal National party candidate in last year's Queensland State election. We acknowledge the articles were potentially damaging to Mr Zhuang. Further, some readers may have inferred from the article that Mr Zhuang was influenced by and associated with the Chinese Communist party, is pro-Beijing and supports an aggressive expansionist China.

We have been asked to make clear the post referred to in the article was a satire piece posted on Mr Zhuang's social media platform written by the well-known Chinese comedian, Brother Sway. The piece was sarcastic and highly critical of the Chinese Communist Party and China's aggressive expansion.

We accept that Mr Zhuang has not been influenced by and is not associated with the Chinese Communist party, he is not pro-Beijing. He supports any country in dealing with policies in a peaceful way. We apologise to Mr Zhuang for any suggestion that the articles may have conveyed to the contrary.

That's the apology that appeared in the Daily Mail Australia to Mr Peter Zhuang, a candidate for the Liberal National Party in the seat of Stretton at the Queensland election held on 31 October 2020. He is a loyal Australian of Chinese heritage who put his hand up to participate in our democratic processes.

He had to go through months of legal proceedings to establish and procure an apology when his loyalty to this country and his views were questioned. It grieves me. We should be encouraging all Australians of all backgrounds, whether they be of First Nation's heritage, following in the great footsteps of some like Senator Dodson and others who are in this place; or whether they are new Australians, like Mr Peter Zhuang, who moved here from mainland China, established a business in this country, built and raised a family in this country and participated in community affairs, bringing people together in his community. We should be encouraging people like that, not trying to drag them down.

In my home state of Queensland, the Chinese have had a great connection with our state through the whole gamut of its history. Out in the town of St George there's a memorial to the Chinese shepherds who came out from mainland China in the 1850s. They were promised the world and lured to come out to Queensland to act as shepherds. None of them made their way back home—not a single one of them. They came to this country and they forged relationships. Many of them actually formed relationships with First Nations people because they belonged to another group that was ostracised by some of the European settlements at that point in time. But they made their homes here and they're as Australian as anyone in this place.

There's a memorial at the Sunnybank RSL which commemorates the contribution of Australians of Chinese heritage who fought for our nation in war, all the way back from the Boer War to the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam war. They have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. That should be celebrated. When people of any ethnic heritage decide to put their hand up to participate in our democratic processes they should be celebrated and they should be congratulated. They should not be torn down for base political motives.

What happened to Mr Peter Zhuang was an absolute disgrace, in my view. There were those who were behind the briefing of the Daily Mail Australia in this regard—Daily Mail Australia wouldn't have got the idea to publish its article back in October 2020 off its own bat; it would have been briefed to write that article about Mr Peter Zhuang, the Liberal-National Party candidate who stood at the state election. It would have been briefed by someone. I say to those people: you should hang your heads in collective shame, because it sends such a negative message to Australians of Chinese heritage. The message is that when you put up your hand after you've built a life in this country—you've made a life for yourself, raised a family here and you want to contribute to our democratic processes, so you make that commitment to nominate for parliament, local government or whatever it is—you're liable to be attacked on the basis of heritage, and that's absolutely disgraceful. I think everyone in this Senate should unite against that sort of attack.

Instead of attacking people of ethnic heritage who run for Australian parliament we should celebrate them, because that's what this country is all about. When I was sworn in as a senator in this place I couldn't help but reflect how remarkable Australia is by virtue of the fact that the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and the Leader of the Government in the Senate at the time were both born overseas and had come to this country. They ultimately stood for the Senate, were elected and then elevated to two of the highest leadership positions in this country. That should be celebrated—absolutely celebrated.

So I congratulate Mr Peter Zhuang and I congratulate all Australians of Chinese heritage who choose to participate in the democratic process, regardless of which party they stand for. I congratulate each and every one of them. And I say to young Australians of Chinese heritage: do not be discouraged, because the vast majority of Australians want to support you and celebrate you if you decide to make that great contribution to the Australian community by seeking election to this place.

Finally, I would like to place on the record my tribute to Mr Peter Zhuang's family. Whenever any of us seeks election in this place, it can be quite a brutal process. Mr Peter Zhuang went through a terribly brutal process, terribly unfairly. I pay tribute to his family. I also pay tribute to all the members of the LNP who stood by Mr Peter Zhuang when he went through this. I say to them: I'm really proud to be a member of a party which has such great members like you, who stood by Mr Peter Zhuang through this—his close friend Mr James Zhuang, and Mr Paul Shih. Also, I place on the record my tribute to Mr Danny Williams and Mr Michael Rooms, who were manning prepoll when confronted with TV cameras seeking to make a story out of Mr Peter Zhuang. I pay tribute to them because, in my view, they represent all that is good about Australia.