Pauline Hanson gives controversial maiden Senate speech

SBS World News Radio: Two decades after her first maiden speech rocked Australian politics, Pauline Hanson has returned to federal parliament with another polarising address.

Pauline Hanson gives controversial maiden Senate speechPauline Hanson gives controversial maiden Senate speech

Pauline Hanson gives controversial maiden Senate speech

She's given her maiden speech in the Senate after winning a seat in July's federal poll.

And much like her 1996 maiden speech when she was in the House of Representatives, she's aired controversial views on a range of issues, particularly on Islam...with Greens Senators walking out of the Senate chamber in protest during her speech.

Pauline Hanson has returned to the federal political stage- and she

"Some call it persistence and tenacity. My daughter describes it as the Johnny Farnham comeback. I call it standing up and fighting for what you believe in, and not allowing the bastards to grind you down. So, to all my peers in this place, and those from the past, I have two words: I'm back."

Twenty years ago, Senator Hanson kicked off a long-running controversy by claiming Australia was in danger of being swamped by Asians.

Now, she has a different group in the same firing line.

"Now, we are in danger of being swamped by Muslims, who bear a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own."

Senator Hanson warning of what she sees as the dire consequences of Islam in Australia.

"Islam cannot have significant presence in Australia if we are to live in an open, secular, and cohesive society. Never before in Australia's history have we seen civil unrest and terror associated with a so-called religion or from followers of that faith. We have seen the destruction it is causing around the world. If we don't make changes now, there will be no hope in the future. Have no doubt that we will be living under Sharia law and living as second-class citizens with second-class rights if we keep heading down the path with the attitude "She'll be right, mate"."

And to that end, she's proposed a range of radical requirements.

"Burqas are not a religious requirement. Most Australians find them confronting, as did two of our former Prime Ministers. I am sure a lot of the women forced to wear them would love to cast them aside, but live in fear to do so. In addition, no more mosques or (Islamic) schools should be built, and those that already exist should be monitored with regards to what they are teaching until the present crisis is over. Sharia should not be acknowleged or allowed. And Australian companies should be banned from paying for halal certification."

Not all Senator Hanson's ideas are Muslim-specific.

Senator Hanson says the Australian population has grown too quickly.

She's returned to her previous general anti-immigration stance, saying those who are already here should be looked after first.

"Governments, both state and federal, have a duty of care to the Australian people. Clean up your own backyard before flooding our country with more people who are going to be a drain on our society. I call for a half to further immigration, and look after our aged, sick, and helpless first."

She says people who don't give Australia their undivided loyalty should go back where they came from.

Senator Hanson has also attacked the foreign ownership of land, particularly agricultural land, in Australia.

She's also taken aim at the workings of the welfare and child support systems.

She says welfare is not a right.

And she says the child support system is such a quagmire that it's even costing people's lives.

"As a nation, we should hang our heads in shame, when, on average, three men suicide a day, and occasonally a woman, due to family breakdowns. The whole system is unworkable, and is in desperate need of change. Children are used a pawns in custody battles where women make frivilous claims and believe they have the sole right to the children. Children have two parents, and until we treat mums and dads with the same courtesy and rights, we will continue to see murders from sheer frustration, depression, and mental illness, caused by this unworkable scheme."

Opposition to Senator Hanson's speech started whilst it was still in progress, with Green Senators walking out of the chamber.

Indepedent senator Nick Xenophon has told Sky News that, as much as Senator Hanson claims to want the best for Australia and Australians, her ideas are not what Australia is all about.

"I've got to say, I want to work with all my Senate colleagues, but my heart sank when I heard that speech. To categorise parts of our community, particularly Islamic Australians, Muslim Australians, basically vilifying them in that way, was just heartbreaking. This is not what Australia is about. We are an open, inclusvie country, and Pauline Hanson is wrong."

But with Senator Hanson just starting a six-year term in the Senate, much like her first parliamentary stint in the 1990s, her and her ideas - a lightning rod for both her fans and her critics alike - could well be at the forefront of national debate for some time to come.

 






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