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TRANSCRIPT
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has made a partial apology for widely condemned anti-Muslim comments she made earlier this week.
In an interview on Sky News on Monday, Senator Hanson said there were, in her words "no good Muslims," and suggested future generations would suffer if more followers of the religion were allowed into Australia.
The comments have since been strongly rejected by Islamic faith groups and leaders, as well as by Labor and coalition politicians.
Senator Hanson has now partially walked back the remarks in an interview with ABC, saying she does not believe her previous statement about there being "no good Muslims."
"No, I don't genuinely believe that because one woman stood for me. She was a Muslim, not a practicing Muslim. If I've offended anyone out there that doesn't believe in Sharia law or multiple marriages or wants to bring the Isis brides in, or people from Gaza who believes in the caliphate and all the rest of it, then I apologize to you for my comment."
But, the Senator refused to offer a full apology over the incident, doubling down on some of her previous, widely criticised comments.
" I'm not going to apologize, for the fact is I will have my say now before it's too late. I'm at the end of my life. I worry about the future of this nation. I don't want Australia to become like Britain or France or Canada or Germany or these other countries that regret the number they have allowed in the country that have slowly been taking control of it."
The Australian National Imams Council President Shadi Alsuleiman has said Senator Hanson's comments reflect a serious misunderstanding of Islam and the Muslim community.
Mr Alsuleiman told the Australian Associated Press the comments are in line with years of what he described as "inaccurate and harmful statements" made by Senator Hanson based on misinformation.
In response to Hanson's remarks, Australia's special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, has invited Ms Hanson to an Iftar dinner during the holy month of Ramadan, issuing a statement which in part reads:
"As the holy month of Ramadan is almost upon us, it is a time for reflection, restraint, and compassion. It is then challenging to listen calmly to the sweeping generalisations and negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslim Australians... I extend a genuine invitation to Senator Hanson, to join me for Iftar this Ramadan. Ms Hanson is welcome to ask questions directly... My door is open."
Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner has also condemned the remarks, urging Senator Hanson to withdraw the comments and formally apologise to Muslim Australians.
A spokesman for the National Imams Council Bilal Rauf has told the ABC Senator Hanson's comments show a disregard for Australia's best interests.
"To be frank, I don't see her as a leader. She's not acting in Australia's interests, if she was, she would be talking about the domestic abuse epidemic, she would be talking about the women who are struggling, she'd be talking about the many young people who are struggling with the cost of living but she's not."
Earlier, Nationals senator Matt Canavan also expressed doubt about Senator Hanson's suitability to be a political leader, speaking on Channel 9's Today show.
"She just proved yesterday why she's not a leader of Australia. She's not fit to lead a major political party with these types of ill discipline statements that she won't correct that insult to hundreds of thousands of Australians.”
He called Senator Hanson's comments "divisive, inflammatory [and] un-Australian," urging her to issue a full apology.
"Totally un-Australian. For someone to say that 800,000 Australians, of those 800,000 Australians who are Muslim, there's no good people among them. That's what Pauline said. Now, clearly I think she went too far and now she won't apologise because she doesn't do that. She never admits that she makes mistakes. We all do. That's what Pauline should do."
Opposition Housing Minister Andrew Bragg echoed criticism of Senator Hanson, calling her remarks "disgusting and outrageous."
The New South Whales premier, Chris Minns has described Hanson’s comments as a “racist intervention,” while Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has called them harmful and inaccurate.
"I don't agree with them. And I never engage in the extremes of politics. I never do. When you have blanket statements, it never works. No blanket statement is ever true. Anyone who looks at that objectively would look at that statement ad think, it's just not right. And might even feel a little uncomfortable about it."
It's not the first time Senator Hanson has been criticised for comments made about Muslim Australians.
She used her maiden speech to the Senate in 2016 to claim Australia was being "swamped by Muslims".
Last year she was suspended from the Senate for a week for wearing a burqa in the senate Chamber, a move which was widely condemned as demeaning and disrespectful to members of the Muslim community.
As the Coalition seeks to regain its footing following a second breakup of the two parties this year and last week's leadership overhaul, One Nation has seen a record surge in popularity in recent months, polling above 20 per cent.
