Senator David Leyonhjelm’s Senate speech in which he thanked the contribution of "young brown men" for their role in Australia's workforce - by delivering his pizza and serving him at 7-Eleven has evoked varied responses, including young brown men themselves, some of whom have termed his speech as “off colour” while others see nothing wrong with what he said.
“Senator Leyonhjelm has a track record of making off colour comments about people other than white men in suits and this recent example is no exception,” said Tarang Chawla a Victorian of Indian origin and 2017 Young Australian of the Year Finalist.
He said Senator Leyonhjelm’s choice of words reflects a lack of understanding of about the migrant communities.
“His words would be met with greater understanding from us if he was genuinely engaged in our communities, listening to us and helping us prosper and grow,” Mr Chawla added. “Instead, we’re right where he wants us to be - humble, melanin-filled subservient beings ready to tend to his every desire, whether it’s a cab ride home or an extra serve of pepperoni on his pizza.”
On Tuesday, Senator Leyonhjelm paid tribute to young migrants, from the subcontinent and the Middle East, for "turning up their sleeves" at jobs "many other Aussies would turn up their noses at", in a speech that was labelled "condescending" by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi.
"The young brown men I come across in my day-to-day life are often in low-paid jobs. They drive me in their Ubers and taxis. They deliver my online purchases, my groceries and my pizza. And they serve me at my local 7-Eleven, at my local service station, and my local restaurants.
"Many of these young brown men have only been in Australia for a decade or so, and they are giving it go, just like previous generations of young migrants," the Senator said.
The Senator said Australia was not taking advantage of the talent pool of its "young brown men", likely due to racial discrimination in the workforce.
"Australia may be squandering the talent pool of its young brown men and women," he told the Senate.
Navdeep Singh, Greens Senate candidate from Queensland said Mr Leyonhjelm’s speech was aimed at votes of migrants from the Indian subcontinent.
“We had Pauline Hanson visit a temple before Senator Leyonhjelm’s spoke about ‘young brown men’. Don’t we all know the election’s coming?” Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi. “But even in his attempt at praising migrants, he couldn’t help but typecast us into people only doing menial jobs.”
However, not everyone was offended by the senator’s speech.
“His intent was good but he could have shed some light at our contribution via some of the high-end professions as well. With a proven track record in other western countries, the writing on the wall is as clear as crystal that these young brown men will someday be designing the very policies Australia runs on. Good on ya mate. You make this brown man very proud,” said Ranbir Singh, an Indian migrant in Melbourne.
But some others were quick issue a curt retort to the Senator, reminding him that the people he was referring to weren't just delivering pizzas and manning 7-Elevens.
“Many of those people David refers to are also brilliant doctors, surgeons, lawyers, teachers, lecturers, corporate businessmen. Yes, some struggle but to give the impression that this is their ‘lot’ is grossly offensive and misleading! It’s stereotyping at its worst and has a suspect basis in my opinion,” wrote a social media user.
“These very hardworking ‘young brown men’ slog to pay off their university fees and rent. Upon finishing their degrees they end up with high paid jobs, and in no time they buy a plush house in good suburbs, sending their children to the best academic schools.
"Seen them do this again and again and again. Hats off to geniuses called 'young brown men”, Alka P Girdhar wrote on Facebook.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi told SBS News that she would like to give Senator Leyonhjelm the benefit of the doubt in being sincere about his concern about migrants.
"If he was really concerned about migrants he wouldn't have just voted to take away their social security safety net should they find themselves in hardship," she said.
