Grievance Debate

MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (15:31): In this grieve I want to draw the attention of the house to the behaviour of the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and I ask that this grieve be badged accordingly. On 18 March 2009, Senator Alan Ferguson addressed the federal parliament as a private member in an adjournment debate directed to the Turkish-Australian community—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Attorney will come to order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: —on the occasion of the 40^th anniversary of the formal agreement between the commonwealth government of Australia and the government of Turkey concerning residents—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Attorney will come to order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: —and the employment of Turkish citizens in Australia. In that debate, Senator Ferguson made statements which in my view are factually incorrect and quite hurtful to Australians of Greek and Armenian descent. He claimed that horrific acts perpetrated by the Ottomans, and others, against Armenians and Greeks—in particular the Pontian Greeks—were 'debatable issues' and were events that 'cannot be accurately depicted'.

I completely distance myself and the state Liberals from Senator Ferguson's remarks, which were his alone and which were made as an independent member in the context of a broader debate. The plain truth of history is that those events not only occurred, but live on in the hearts of the children of those who suffered as a result of the Turkish removal of the Greeks of Pontus and Asia Minor and from the Aegean coast. Senator Ferguson's remarks are not the policy of the Liberal Party, federal or state, and were not presented as such. They were expressed as the views of Senator Ferguson alone.

Members interjecting:

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The events that have followed Senator Ferguson's address to the Senate—in particular the way in which it has been dealt with by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Mr Atkinson—have further hurt Australians of not only Greek and Armenian descent, but also of Turkish descent.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Point of order.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The member for Croydon produced a politically—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney has a point of order.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: The member for Finniss just shouted across the chamber, 'Shut up, you idiot,' and I ask him to withdraw.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

An honourable member interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Finniss, do you propose to withdraw?

Mr PENGILLY: No. He is assuming that I was referring to him. If he agrees with me, we are on the right wavelength.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! It is not unparliamentary. I invited the member to withdraw. The leader.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The member for Croydon produced a politically pointed media release designed to inflame and antagonise Australians of Greek, Armenian and Turkish origin. In his media release, the minister set out to misrepresent Senator Ferguson's views as the official views of the Liberal Party in the full knowledge that this was untrue. The Labor minister then fabricated a letterhead which purported to be a creation of the Liberal Party of Australia and, using that letterhead, sent copies of Senator Ferguson's speech to Greek households.

His aim was to inflame, anger and cause hatred. The opposition was advised that some of these letters, with false Liberal badging, did not identify the fact that they were sent by the Labor Party for political effect. Recipients may not have known from whom the letters originated.

The spirit of multiculturalism in Australia has always been one of bipartisanship. Labor and Liberal MPs have always sought to unite rather than divide and to heal rather than open wounds. MPs of all political persuasions have embraced the symbol of harmony embodied in a multicultural Australia. It is one thing to disagree with Senator Ferguson's remarks, as clearly both the minister and I do, but it is another thing to seek to make cheap political capital out of the remarks through exaggeration, inflammatory language and false representation of written material in an effort to seek political favour.

To any Australians of Greek, Armenian or Turkish origin who have been hurt by Senator Ferguson's remarks, I express my empathy and concern. To many of the same Australians who have been as deeply hurt by minister Atkinson, I profoundly apologise as a member of parliament. It hurts me to know that this parliament has ministers who could act so insensitively over such tragic matters.

Certain remarks made by Senator Ferguson on 18 March were ill-informed, inaccurate and painful. Along with all state Liberals I reject them fully. I have spoken to the senator who has since, both in writing and in public expressed his deep sorrow that aspects of his speech caused offence. I trust that minister Atkinson will also write to leaders of Greek, Armenian and Turkish communities and explain truthfully and factually his role in inflaming these painful tensions for political gain. The true spirit of multiculturalism requires a better standard of behaviour from us all—Senator Ferguson and minister Atkinson included.

The Greeks are a savvy and an astute part of the Australian community. They know when people are being genuine and when they are being disingenuous. I hope that leaders of the Greek community will ensure, through their newsletters and community gatherings, that the mischief and misrepresentation that has been made by this minister is clarified and explained.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will take his seat.

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: You are a joke.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Attorney!

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Attorney!