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

[by video link] Today I will table a petition calling on this parliament to pass our One Nation legislation stopping COVID-19 injection discrimination. This petition was launched only 22 days ago. In that short time more than 200,000 Australians have put their names to it.

People's strong opposition to injection, coercion, discrimination and separation continues to grow. Last weekend, many thousands of Australians exercised what little freedom remains to them to protest injection mandates. Australians have spoken loudly and emphatically, and senators will ignore this growing voice at their grave peril. The collusion last week to block this legislation from being referred to a parliamentary inquiry sends a clear message from parliament to the Australian people, and that is that the people must be silenced. Parliament's clear message is that we, the people, must not be given the opportunity to say that we oppose injection coercion and discrimination. The message is that senators here are very frightened at what we all might say at an inquiry. Always beneath control there is fear. Senators are afraid that when we speak we will expose their false narrative that everyone opposed to injection coercion and discrimination is an extremist antivaxxer conspiracist. Many people who have signed this petition are fully injected against COVID-19.

We the people are not against injections; we're against government coercion and government approved discrimination. We the people understand this issue is much greater than COVID-19 injections and pandemic restrictions. We the people understand this is about some of the fundamental principles of Australian democracy: freedom of speech, individual autonomy and the right to choose our own fate.

Senators, our job is not to silence the Australian people; our job is to listen to the Australian people and do what the people tell us. As senators, we're not dictators; we're servants. Senators, the people are telling you to pass the legislation and end this pandemic of discrimination.