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Newly elected One Nation Senator Brian Burston, “I am not racist”

Newly elected One Nation Senator Brian Burston, who holds anti- Islam views, says he is not racist but pro-Australian.

In his only television interview, he told SBS that he'll push for an inquiry into Islam to determine whether it's a religion or political ideology.

One Nation's support to repeal the Racial Discrimination Act has also found support from another independent Senator.

 

Senator Brian Burston told SBS in an exclusive interview that he and One Nation are “not racist at all".

"I'm pro-Australian. If they want to describe that as being racist, so be it", the Senator said after his win was officially declared in Sydney on Friday.

"I have a Sri Lankan son-in-law and obviously two grandchildren that are part Sri Lankan, I have had Chinese doctors all through my adult life, as GPs, so if I was racist I’d be demanding I only deal with Australians."

 

The team of four One Nation senators will also push to have section 18c repealed. Malcolm Roberts, who was elected alongside Pauline Hanson to represent Queensland, raised the issue at his debut press conference on Thursday.

 

"We need people to speak up freely and deliver what they really believe and yet they get slammed for that. I'm looking at 18c under the Racial Discrimination Act," he said.

"That needs to be addressed because that is curbing free speech. When we have free speech curbed, it means we don't talk about the real issues - tax, Islam, terrorism, the economy."

 The controversial section makes it unlawful to publicly "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people" on the basis of race. Opponents argue this clause restricts freedom of speech.

However, section 18d exempts "any statement, publication, discussion or debate made or held for any genuine academic, artistic or scientific purpose", as long as it is done "reasonably and in good faith".

An Abbott-era push to remove racial discrimination protections could be back on the table in the new Parliament, with several incoming senators determined to strike off section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Derryn Hinch, Senator-elect for Victoria, said he supported unwinding the law "1000 per cent" and had discussed the issue with Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi and re-elected Family First Senator Bob Day.


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