Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That general business notice of motion No. 43 be called on immediately and have precedence over all other business until determined.

Question agreed to.

I, and also on behalf of Senator Waters, move:

That the Senate—

(a) condemns all racism and discrimination against migrants and people of colour;

(b) assures all migrants to Australia that they are valued, welcome members of our society;

(c) affirms that, if Parliament is to be a safe place for all who work and visit here, there can be no tolerance for racism or discrimination in the course of parliamentarians' public debate; and

(d) censures Senator Hanson for her divisive, anti-migrant and racist statement telling Senator Faruqi to 'piss off back to Pakistan', which does not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people.

Like many migrants and people of colour in this country, I've been told to go back to where I come from hundreds of times. Senator Pauline Hanson did it a few days ago, telling me in a tweet to 'piss off back to Pakistan'. It was a racist slur against me and for her supporters—a deliberate and effective attempt to whip up a frenzy and mobilise a pile on. Right on cue, her tweet triggered an avalanche of—and days of—abusive calls, emails, tweets and comments directed at me, saying things like: 'People will piss on your grave'; 'I will cheer when you die'; 'Your lot are good for target practice'; 'What a dirty, vulgar creature you are'; and 'You are lower than pond life.' Predictably—

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about your tweets, Senator Faruqi?

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is exactly what I'm talking about, President. This is the sort of behaviour—

Opposition senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order. This is a particularly serious matter.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She said something exactly like that.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Canavan, I've called the Senate to order! I am asking senators on this occasion to listen respectfully. If you wish to make a point, stand and make that point respectfully. Do not call out across the chamber. It is disrespectful and it is disorderly. I expect Senator Faruqi and any other senator who participates in this debate, whether you agree with their opinion or not, to be heard in silence. Senator Faruqi.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. Predictably, dozens of versions of 'Shut the eff up, and leave' were also there.

Opposition senators interjecting—

While I bore the brunt of it, my family—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, please resume your seat. Senator Watt?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt the debate, but Senator Canavan is obviously ignoring your request. This is a sensitive matter. Discussions have occurred to keep this debate respectful, and I'd ask that all senators, regardless of their opinions, follow that so that we can have a debate on a sensitive matter in a respectful manner. That applies across the chamber.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Watt. I do not expect—

Opposition senators interjecting—

Order! I do not expect repeated points of order to be called during this debate. I expect senators to be respectful—that is, to remain silent. You are free to stand and seek the call and make a point. I would ask you to respond in that way. Please continue, Senator Faruqi.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. While I bore the brunt of it, my family and staff were also subjected to unacceptable vitriol. Someone even called my husband's workplace and told him to go back to where he came from because 'people are effing sick' of us.

Many migrants let me know how triggered they felt after reading Senator Hanson's attack tweet. It never gets easier to deal with racist attacks. It hurts every time. It does shape my sense of worth and belonging to a place which has been home to me for 30 years. It is insulting and it is humiliating but then that is exactly what it is intended to be. Racism takes an immense toll on our mental and physical health. It is an experience that is hard to explain, being despised, not just for what I look like and where I came from but also for having the audacity to participate in public debate. It is even more painful because so often we are told to just get on with it. We are gaslighted by those who have never experienced racism into downplaying our own trauma. We are also gaslighted by those who think engaging in racist attacks constitutes a debate, even though the line between genuine, robust debate and racism and discrimination should actually be clear to everyone.

Senator Hanson crossed that line, as she has done so many other times. While others take for granted the right to voice their opinion, for migrants of colour, our Australianness will always be conditional. It is conditional on us keeping our heads down and mouths shut, it is conditional on us being grateful for being let in, it is conditional on us giving up our identity and assimilating, and it is conditional on us agreeing to those in power, even if it means ignoring our own trauma. Well, to hell with that. Let me say this loudly and clearly to Senator Hanson and to each and every person who joined in at the pile-on, including Senator Lambie: I and everyone like me, us black and brown people, have every right to participate in public debate, just like white people. Yet you hate us for having the temerity to raise our heads above the parapet, to join the public debate on what you see as controversial topics.

I am here, in here. You try to silence people who hold racism to account instead of the perpetrators of racism. Targets of racism risk being labelled unparliamentary for pointing out blatant racism when it happens, while the racists sit back and relax, protected from the repercussions of outdated, unfit-for-purpose conventions and rules. You will not silence us. I will not be silenced, especially on the topic of the British monarch and monarchy, the head of an Empire which ruthlessly colonised, plundered, looted and divided the land of my ancestors. Truth about the Empire must be told. I will not toe the line and participate in a wilful delusion about the monarchy, which exists to maintain white supremacy and to make all the beneficiaries of colonialism feel comfortable at the expense of its targets.

Over centuries of rule, over most of the Indian subcontinent where I came from, first through the violence and rapacious East India Company and then through the Crown itself, the British monarchy decimated the economy and caused the deaths of millions. They destroyed local industries like textiles and shipbuilding through violence, through taxes, through import tariffs. They taxed locals at exorbitant and unprecedented rates, and, through torture and cruelty, stole vast wealth which they shipped off to England. Reparations have never been paid by the Empire for its barbarism, and much of the loot is still shamelessly held, including in the form of diamonds in the Queen's crown or treasures in British museums.

This nation has experienced British colonialism in its bloodiest form. My solidarity is with the First Nations people, who never ceded their sovereignty of these lands and who continue to bravely speak the truth of Empire, often at much personal cost. I have the right to talk about this history without being racially vilified. Senator Hanson's catalogue of racist filth over the past decade is widely known and truly despicable yet she has rarely been held to account, if at all. She has never been held to account for all of the harm that she has caused. She has never been suspended, fined, stripped of her privileges or even just made to apologise.

She faced no real consequences in 1996 when she said this country was in danger of being swamped by Asians, and then, again, in 2016 when she claimed that we were now in danger of being swamped by Muslims. She faced no real accountability in 2006 when she claimed Africans coming to Australia had AIDS and were of no benefit to this country. She faced no real sanction in 2017 when she called Islam a disease against which we need to vaccinate ourselves. She faced no real sanction in 2017 when she mockingly wore a burqa into this chamber. But, do you know what? It's never too late. We can start today.

I do urge senators to hold your colleagues accountable for unacceptable behaviour and the racial vilification of one of your peers. If you don't, then all your commitments to setting the standard in this place will be nothing but empty rhetoric. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept, and thus far our parliament has accepted this hateful racism of the worst standard. It is no surprise therefore that the Jenkins review found that workers in parliament felt that they wouldn't be taken seriously in raising issues of racism. It's no surprise that First Nations people and people of colour don't see parliament as a safe workplace for them.

It is so important that we recognise that no decent workplace would tolerate the dangerous, unhinged racism that Senator Hanson has displayed against me and others. Thankfully, we have reached a crossroads in defining the kind of workplace we want to be. Whether we get there is another story. The recommendations of the Jenkins report are being implemented by the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, and the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards is developing new codes of conduct for parliament, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. It is vital that we use these opportunities, which may not come again, to make parliament more safe, respectful and diverse. Our codes of conduct must firmly prohibit racism in our workplaces. Antiracism training must be mandatory for everyone who works here. Racism must be identified and called out every single time that it happens in here, or out there, by anyone who works in this place. And people who spew such hate must face serious consequences.

I do understand that Labor has an amendment to my motion, and my motion, probably, is unlikely to get through. And I do have to call this out—the vague statement about respectful debate, which is all well and good, doesn't actually call a spade a spade. Over two days, in the parliamentary committee that is developing the codes, we heard evidence from people who mentioned to us the best practice codes of conduct, which call out behaviour like this and hold parliamentarians accountable. But we can't do that without agreeing to this motion that is in front of us. Labor's amendment really lets Senator Hanson off scot-free and gives her a free pass to do this again and again, as she has done in the past.

This is not the standard we want to set in here or out there. We have to name and shame racism and the perpetrators of racism. Censuring Senator Hanson today is really the absolute bare minimum. It is a symbolic but important step that everyone in this place can take to make clear that we condemn racism in all its forms, shapes and sizes. It is a necessary step that we must take to show the many people of colour in this country that parliament is a workplace that will not tolerate racism, and that it is simply not okay for anyone, but particularly the people you work with, to racially vilify you.

So I will say it again. Racism must be identified and called out every single time, and people who spew such hate must face serious consequences. This must start today. It can start today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, not next year—today. This place needs to set the highest standard today for all others to follow.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First, in regard to the amendment circulated in the chamber by myself and Senator Birmingham, I acknowledge Senator Birmingham's willingness to co-sponsor, which, as people might recall, is my preferred response on issues of race in this place. That was the way in which we sought to deal with the comments that former Senator Anning made. The amendment has been circulated and there are a few changes, but I would make the point that it also calls on senators to refrain from inflammatory and divisive comments both inside and outside the chamber. I, and on behalf of Senator Birmingham, move to amend the motion in the following terms:

Paragraph (a), omit "all racism and discrimination against migrants and people of colour", substitute "racism and discrimination in all its forms";

Paragraph (d), omit the paragraph, substitute "calls on all senators to engage in debates and commentary respectfully, and to refrain from inflammatory and divisive comments, both inside and outside the chamber at all times".

I will make some comments in relation to the amendment of the primary motion generally. We are seeking to amend for two main reasons. First, we don't agree that the offending sentence should be repeated in this place. We don't think it should be repeated at all, much less in the Senate. Second, we don't think that a censure can be our default response in such a situation, particularly in reference to social media and other comments.

I do want to say, to start with, that I condemn Senator Hanson's comments without reservation. I think they're appalling. They're comments that have been levelled at me countless times since I arrived in this country. I remember getting them when I was a kid in the schoolyard, and I've got them since. They're not just the pathetic hecklings of a schoolyard bully. They are, as Senator Faruqi rightly said, something you say to de-legitimise someone's right to speak. I don't know what drives it. Perhaps it's the fear of anything different—different races, different ethnicities, different opinions. But I say to Senator Faruqi: we on this side do understand your grievance at this comment and we understand why you are calling out such behaviour.

I pick up on something that Senator Faruqi said in her contribution about how triggering this is. It's true. It is triggering each time you hear it. I am the Senate leader; I still get triggered. I wonder how it is for kids in the schoolyard who get the same thing. I join in the assurance that is in the motion that all migrants to Australia are valued and welcome members of society. I was reflecting, when I saw the media focus on this, on my first speech, because I actually talked about this experience. I asked the question in the speech: How long do you have to be here and how much do you have to love this country before you're accepted? How long? The good news is that I do actually believe that the overwhelming majority of Australians are accepting. I think the overwhelming majority of Australians are accepting and respectful, and I would say also that, regardless of our differences of views, I think the overwhelming majority of members of this chamber are accepting of people of different ethnic backgrounds.

In relation to the workplace issue, the parliament has been through a long and comprehensive review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, led by Kate Jenkins, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, and she rightly described us as having an opportunity to transform this place into what it should be, referring to:

… workplaces where expected standards of behaviour are modelled, championed and enforced … and in which any Australian, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status or age, feels safe and welcome to contribute.

She went on to say:

This aim is an important one, because it is only by reflecting the whole of Australian society, and living up to community expectations, that Parliament can perform its function in a representative democracy …

Each of us in this place needs to take responsibility for our words and the impact of our words. Sometimes we say the wrong thing. Sometimes we do say the wrong thing, but we do have an individual and collective responsibility to act in a way that Australians would expect of us and that we would expect of our fellow Australians.

It is why, when confronted with such behaviour or words that we are describing, I think it's far preferable that the response is bipartisan. That's the approach, as I said, that I took with Senator Cormann when Senator Anning made his most egregious remarks several years ago. If I may repeat what I said on that occasion, in that debate and in that motion I made clear:

… that we abhor racism and religious intolerance, and that we acknowledge and celebrate diversity and the harmony of the Australian people. We stated our respect for people from all faiths, cultures, ethnicities and nationalities—a respect that has made our country one of the world's most successful migrant nations and multicultural societies—and we reaffirmed our commitment as Australians to peace over violence, innocence over evil, understanding over extremism, liberty over fear and love over hate.

For our democracy to function well we must treat each other as equals. It is true that freedom of speech is a feature of democracy, but speech which is directed at people's heritage, race or religion is an attack on democracy, because fundamentally what it is saying is, 'You are not equal.' We must treat each other as equals, no matter the differences in our views. When we fail to take such an approach, it is not only diminishing of the other; it is diminishing of us all.

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

Well, this has just been hypocrisy. Pure, spectacular hypocrisy is the most fitting description for this most ridiculous motion. It is the most fitting description for the conduct of the Australian Greens. They embody hypocrisy. They signal it as a virtue. They claim they want parliament to be a safe and respectful workplace. What they really mean is that no-one must be allowed to disagree with or criticise them in any way while they are free to say anything they please. This is because they see themselves as the epitome of virtue who can say or do nothing wrong. Their sense of entitlement and privilege is stunning.

I wonder if they read the Sydney Morning Herald this morning. There is a very interesting story in that newspaper detailing the conduct of one Greens senator in this very building that is anything but respectful. It reports the co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, aged in her 70s, was left shaking and ill to the point of requiring medical attention after being verbally abused by Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe in a meeting in this building last year. It reports Senator Thorpe's former chief of staff was actually 'scared and appalled' at his senator's conduct, which he described as, 'by far one of the most unprofessional displays I have ever seen', and as making him want the earth to swallow him whole.

Ms Atkinson herself described Senator Thorpe's conduct as 'vicious and personal' and 'abusive', saying she accused Ms Atkinson of being involved in corrupt Aboriginal organisations. Listen to the stunning entitlement and privilege in this: when Ms Atkinson attempted to respond to this abuse, Senator Thorpe spoke over her, 'in a highly aggressive tone, repeatedly stating: "I am an Australian senator. You are in my meeting."' This came from the same Green who, in an estimates committee hearing, told a minister she was offended by being referred to as an Australian.

There was despicable behaviour on the streets of Melbourne just recently, showing even blood on her hands and the crown's foot on her throat. You may have accused me of a lot of things in this place—what you refer to—but I have never acted with the behaviour of one of your Greens senators. You talk about my behaviour and what I've said? You may call me a racist—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, may I remind you to address the chair with your remarks, please.

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

The whole thing is: the term 'racist' is very easily thrown about and bandied around in our country these days. People must understand what the word 'racist' means. It means you believe your race to be superior to another. I have never ever stated myself to be superior to another—ever. Criticism is not racism. To question anything is not racism.

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

Hear, hear!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, please resume your seat. I did request that senators be heard in silence, and I reiterate that request once again.

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

This is coming from the same Greens senator—and I spoke about Senator Thorpe. She's gone missing. She's not here. Senator Thorpe's not here today. Wonder why? I question why she's not here.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, please resume your seat. Senator McKim, I am not entertaining a point of order. I have asked all senators to listen in respectful silence.

I'm not entertaining a point of order; I said that before. I've asked you, and I'm directing you, to listen in respectful silence. You may not agree with what's being said, but you were heard in silence and I expect silence from the chamber.

Senator Whish-Wilson, please resume your seat.

Senator Whish-Wilson, I am directing you to resume your seat! This is a very difficult matter, and it is not assisted by cheering, by clapping or by comments across the chamber from any senator. I'm going to ask Senator Hanson to continue, and I expect Senator Hanson to be heard in silence.

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

Senator Thorpe said she was offended by being referred to as an Australian. This is coming from the same Green who happily collects a $211,000-a-year salary for sitting in a parliament she has called illegitimate.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, I remind you it is not appropriate to reflect on other senators. I would ask you to withdraw that. Senator Hanson, I am asking you in the spirit of this debate to withdraw that comment.

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

The fact is she said she—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not asking you to repeat—

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

I'm not—I just don't know. I said a couple of sentences there. Which one would you like me to withdraw?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, I'm asking you not to reflect on a senator in any way. I'm simply asking you to withdraw.

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

I shall withdraw.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Hanson. Please continue.

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

Isn't it funny? The Greens hate the Crown but they love accepting the currency the Queen's image is printed on.

Then, of course, there is her fellow Green Senator Faruqi. This screen implies the tweet I posted in response to her disrespecting the late Queen Elizabeth II was racist and disrespectful and called for parliament to be made a safe and respectful workplace. Let me read out what her comments were:

Condolences to those who knew the Queen.

I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples.

We are reminded of the urgency of Treaty with First Nations, justice & reparations for British colonies & becoming a republic.

Only a couple of months earlier, she stood in this place and swore allegiance to the Queen and her heirs. Yet she turns around here and says 'a racist and a coloniser'. I just don't get it. I don't understand it.

This is the same Greens senator who posted a tweet telling the former Prime Minister of Australia to 'just eff off'. This is directed at all the Greens. You discussed the majority of the Australian people. The Greens are hated, loathed and despised by most Australians not only for their outrageous, destructive policies but also because the Greens always insult Australians as racist and destroyers of the environment. They wear this hypocrisy as a badge of honour to display this to their sycophants and young Australians being misled during their formative school years by left-leaning ideologists.

I am so grateful to the Greens for this idiotic stunt. It's time we had a real discussion about what constitutes racism. I didn't refer to Senator Faruqi's race or imply that she had inferior characteristics due to her race or country of origin. I only suggested that, because she is so obviously unhappy in her adopted country with her privileged position, she should go back to Pakistan.

I remind the Senate that Senator Thorpe yelled at me in this very chamber to go back to where I came from. I heard her comment to a couple of members in this chamber, male members 'you are just white privilege'. As far as the Greens are concerned, it's okay for them to say it but it's unacceptable for me. To them, only white people, including their own parliamentary leaders, can be racist, and I must not be allowed to say this. This is blatant reverse racism and I'm calling it out. I'm not remotely intimidated by Greens threats and their stunning hypocrisy. With their threats, they are not just trying to silence me; they are also trying to silence the many thousands of Australians who feel frightened or intimidated by the likes of your lot to have an opinion, let alone open their mouths. Your intimidation, calling someone a racist to shut them up, is not only pathetic, to say the least; it is a misuse of the true meaning of the word.

Criticism is not racism. I am fed up and so too are millions of other Australians with people who use their skin colour to play the victim. From the day I was first elected, I have always fought for equality for all Australians regardless of race. At the last election, who stood second on the ticket to me in Queensland? A gentleman from India. My candidates have come from all different walks of life and backgrounds, all different races, but you are not interested in that. If I was racist I wouldn't have people from different cultural backgrounds.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please resume your seat, Senator Hanson.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, I said I wasn't entertaining points of order. This is a very difficult debate. I'm listening very carefully and I will ask senators to withdraw when I think they are out of order.

Senator Hanson has not been doing that. Order! This is not debating point. Senator Hanson, that is not appropriate.

No, don't debate me. I have asked all senators to treat each other with respect, to have a respectful debate, one that is in silence. Please continue.

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

I remind the Greens that in exchange for the tremendous privilege of serving the Australian people in this chamber, they swore allegiance to the Queen and her success. I remind them that it doesn't matter whether you think Australia should be a republic or that Australia only belongs to Indigenous people, Australia is a constitutional monarchy that belongs to every Australian, Indigenous or not.

I reflect on Senator Wong's words about the racism that she feels has happened to her over a period of time. I remember growing up in this country, the Italians used to say, 'They called us wogs.' I used to go to the fish markets and the guys down there would say, 'Yes, you know what? We wore it as a badge of honour—to be called a 'wog'.' That was the Australian way, but those people got out and worked. They felt part of the country, if you ask a lot of these people now. I see the comments on my Facebook page. People say, 'We are proud. We came to this country to be Australians.' They love this nation, they worked hard and they see themselves as Australians. That's all I've ever spoken about in a lot of my speeches.

When I mentioned in my maiden speech about being swamped by Asians, it was a comment questioning the immigration in Australia. I put this on the record again. I have spoken about it many times. We had high numbers coming from Asia and I wanted to address it by saying that we have to look at this; otherwise, we would have an imbalance in our population in time to come. It is the same as Japan. They are very parochial about who they allow into their country. Why shouldn't I have the right to say who should come to the country? We have even had former leaders of this nation say we have the right to say who comes to our country. But when Senator Hanson says it in such a way, my God, it is racist. We have to have this debate on who comes to the country, and why they should come here. I've never stated that Senator Faruqi shouldn't be here, but I was appalled—and so were many other thousands if not millions of people—by her comments in regard to the Queen less than a day after her death. I won't stand by and let that be said. I had my tweet. Senator Faruqi made comments that people like me should be pulled up. Well, when people like her make her comments, I will still have my say, and I will pull them up as well.

This place is the heart of our democracy in this nation, and we are here to represent the Australian people. When we acknowledge and accept that we all have an opinion and a right to say things, that's when we come to the right decisions for the people of this nation. They are looking at us as the leaders of this nation. My comments were not made in the chamber; they were said on a tweet, in retaliation to her comments.

Everyone has a right to have a say, but—along with a lot of other Australians—the way I see this country going is that there is too much reverse racism. I see activists who are using their race and their colour to divide us as a nation. I'll fight against that, and I'll speak out against that, every step of the way, as much as I possibly can.

It is very important to me, and I'm privileged to be here, but I refuse to acknowledge that I have made racist comments constantly. As I said to you, understand what the word racist means: your race to be superior to another. You tell me anything, since 1996 or before, that I have said that is actually racist. And I don't mean criticism of policy or criticism of immigration. There is nothing at all. Understand what the word racist means, because you are putting a message to many Australians: 'If they disagree with you, then call them a racist.' Our skin colour may be different, but we are all human beings in this place, and we have a right to a decent way of life and a decent standard of living. We have all worked hard and should enjoy this wonderful country that we have, without the hatred that goes on. It's about working together and who we are as a nation. Until that changes—and if your threats are trying to silence me it's not going to damn well happen—you are here to do a job. Do your job and represent all Australians with the dignity and respect they deserve.

In closing, as I have explained, I will not retract what I've told Senator Faruqi or any other Australian who has come here for a new way of life and disrespects what is Australian to me. She can go and do what I've said. I make the offer, also, to take her to the airport.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You scumbag! You absolute scumbag!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Steele-John. You may have missed what I said before: if you are in the chamber, you will listen in silence. You will not make points across the chamber. I'm going to call Senator Birmingham now, and I remind all senators once again: you are to listen in respectful silence.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. And I thank the government, at the outset, for their cooperation in the joint proposal of the amendments to this motion. At a time when, right around the globe, we see enormous fracturing of politics and the way politics is conducted, and at a time when there are media and media sources perpetuating evermore extreme and conspiratorial material and perpetuating remarks that are offensive to other individuals, it is important on occasions like this that the parties of government in a country like Australia speak with one voice when it comes to central and important values for our nation. And I make clear, as the motion as proposed to be amended by Senator Wong and myself makes clear, that racism and discrimination have no place in any place, anywhere, at any time, against anyone in our nation or elsewhere. There is certainly no place in this parliament for racism or discrimination. My personal experiences will self-evidently be vastly different to those of senators of other backgrounds, who have confronted racism or discrimination leading to hurt, to injustice, to stereotyping or to prejudice.

I say to all Australians—be they others in this place or elsewhere, be they Indigenous Australians or migrants to our nation throughout the generations—that you are all valued, that you are all important, that you all, and should all, enjoy the rights and responsibilities accorded to all Australians, rights and responsibilities in equal measure to all, regardless of their background.

We all, in this great country, do have enormous rights accorded to us and enormous opportunities that are not available everywhere else around the world. But we carry some responsibilities too, and particularly the responsibilities to show respect—respect to those rights, respect to the opportunities accorded to us and respect to the systems that have provided for those opportunities—and with that, there ought to be clear respect for one another.

In this place, in this parliament, we enjoy certain privileged rights, enhanced rights, but also very clearly enhanced responsibilities for our conduct. And this parliament, as per the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins's report last year, and its title, should set the standard. That report focused on a range of different conduct issues, but frankly it should apply in all manner in relation to the way our nation engages. This place should set the standard in all of our conduct and on any of the issues and approaches that we undertake. Members and senators are of course free to seek change, but they should, in seeking change, respect the rights, the institutions and the practices that give them, in this country, the opportunity to seek those changes. Members and senators will disagree, but they should show respect for one another.

President, my advice to senators of all stripes is: stay out of the gutter; rise above the Twitterverse; play the ball, not the person. Even in the conduct of this debate the interjections, the swipes and the insinuations have hindered, not helped, in the conduct of being able to make clear statements in relation to the condemnation of racism; in relation to the assurance of all Australians, especially migrants, that they are valued and welcomed; in relation to the importance of this parliament being a safe place to work; and in relation to making sure that it is clear to all senators to engage in debates respectfully. Please look to the bigger picture and be the bigger people that Australians of all views and values overwhelmingly want us to be.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the question be put.

Question agreed to.

The:

I now put the question on the amendment circulated in the names of Senators Wong and Birmingham.

Question agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to raise a point of order, if I might.

The:

On what matter?

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do I have the call to raise a point of order?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If it's on the matter we've just concluded, no.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

President, can I just suggest that 197(2) of the standing orders does allow me to make a point of order.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And it's also up to me whether I entertain a point of order.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, you haven't heard it yet: that's my point.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not entertaining points of orders about the debate we've just had, Senator McKim. That does not add any value at all.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll be writing to you on this matter, President.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. I'm happy to seek the advice of the Clerk.