HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-03-19 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Motions

Christchurch Mosques Attack

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. S.S. Marshall (resumed on motion).

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:43): This parliament is at its best when it comes together, as it does now to mourn and reflect on what has happened in Christchurch. It touches us in the way that similar incidents in other countries do—not to the same degree, though it should. It touches us because of the strong connections that we have with New Zealand going back many years. It is not just the strong connections: it is also the fact that, as two nations, we share much in common.

On that Friday, I was with the member for Morialta in Whyalla, opening the STEM facilities at two primary schools. We were there with the children in all their primary school innocence, wanting to make an effort in the new STEM facilities. Also on that day, a lot of secondary school students were striking for a better world. But it was all dwarfed by what happened in New Zealand. As the story unfolded it became clear just how terrible it was, the slaughter of innocence in a place of worship by someone who was just consumed by hate. Some people have reflected upon how that man ended up being the way he was. That will come out in the fullness of time.

There is absolutely no doubt that over recent years there has been the demonisation of part of our broader community. People of the Islamic faith have been demonised in all sorts of ways: in our media and at times with the dog whistling that has gone on in politics, especially at a national level. I am sure that all people in this chamber condemn wherever that dog whistling is coming from because it does have consequences.

It is often said that the people of Islamic faith do not have the capacity to integrate into Australian society. When I say it is often said, it is often said on what has become, in some respects, the sewer of social media. Parts of social media have almost become Goebbelsian in the way that they have promoted hate and division on the part of extreme groups that once upon a time did not get air, did not get oxygen, in our society. Unfortunately, they now have a medium within which to spread their vile views.

Today, the leader reflected upon the long history of people of the Islamic faith in South Australia, as did the member for Stuart when he mentioned that the first mosque was established way back in 1861 in Marree, and something that we should be proud of is that the first mosque in a capital city in Australia was established here in Adelaide in 1888.

My own community of Whyalla has been a vibrant and multicultural community, with people from all over the world. At one stage, 64 different nationalities were represented. Going back to 1975, a centre for prayer and meeting for the people of Islamic faith was established in Whyalla. Those people who came from various countries many years ago and those who have come to Australia recently have been part of our community, part of the workforce that makes up our community and part of the social fabric of our community. They have got along with everybody in our community, as have most people in our community got along with people of the Islamic faith. In fact, it is something not even worth mentioning. It is just what it is and how we operate as a community.

It was brought home to me the danger, explicitly and implicitly, in a lot of the nonsense that is now spread on social media and sometimes the commentary that gets into the media, even in the regional media. The Whyalla News printed a couple of anti-Islamic letters in the paper. A few weeks later in January 2013, at that prayer centre that had been in Whyalla since 1975, somebody put an incendiary device at the front of the building and at the back of the building in order to attempt to burn down the building.

I was on the council at the time. Full credit to our mayor at the time, Jim Pollock. Jim, other councillors and I went to the centre in solidarity with the Islamic community in Whyalla to say that this is not our community. Not only is it not our community in Whyalla but it is not our community anywhere in South Australia and it is not our community anywhere in Australia. The vast majority of the Australian populace, irrespective of where they come from, do not support the values of that small minority that are deeply prejudiced.

Over recent years, we have seen parts of the mainstream media, especially the Murdoch press and especially in the Eastern States, peddle all the nonsense and all the myths we have heard about people of the Islamic faith. They have attempted to demonise people. Indeed, for years now there has been demonisation of refugees—people who have been leaving often desperate circumstances to come to our country. This is not an argument about secure borders. I have no issue with secure borders, but it is an argument about having compassion and empathy and not allowing the uglier aspects of our society to manifest themselves and to grow.

What New Zealand is going through at the moment is horrendous, but the way that they are attempting to deal with this incredibly traumatic set of circumstances is a credit to the New Zealand population, its politicians and especially its Prime Minister. There has been mention in New Zealand about the need to tighten gun control and I would be one of those who agreed.

I think most people in this chamber would reflect very positively on the role of John Howard and Tim Fischer in facing down incredibly strong opposition in regional communities when they called upon the states to introduce much tighter gun control. It resulted in saving many lives in Australia, so I wish the New Zealand government well when it comes to introducing tighter control. It is the easy thing to do because weapons are the means. It is the motivation that we have to reflect upon and the lessons that we have to take from that.

Social media is all profit and no responsibility. What Facebook and other social media have got away with, with their total level of irresponsibility, is absolutely shocking. We need to come together not just in this country but in other countries to address this and to put in place some reasonable constraints—constraints that are in keeping with the open democratic society that we have here and elsewhere.

When ISIS was in full swing, it was actively using social media to spread its incredibly odious message, but there was a strong international collaborative arrangement to deny them that platform. It was largely successful, so it can be done and it needs to be done with what is the essentially white supremacist and Neo-Nazi outpouring that happens on social media.

I have been on social media for many years. A long time before coming here, I had a personal page and I retained it when I joined the parliament. There were people who advised getting rid of it, but I find it an incredibly interesting barometer because there are a lot of people on it with incredibly diverse views. I sometimes admonish myself when I see racist anti-Islamic views expressed by people I know but I have not taken the opportunity to respond, partly because I think it is a waste of time and I am not going to change their minds, but I think I was wrong: we all need to make that stand. I did not delete those people from the account. In a way, I find it useful to know what they are thinking and what they are doing. However, it does reflect upon elements of our society in an incredibly poor way.

What scares me is that these are, in most respects, mainstream people who are picking up these memes and all this other nonsense propagated by social media, and then they are reflecting themselves, often out of ignorance. They believe the nonsense they are reading. The great danger of social media is that it is totally unfiltered. That is bad enough, and I think it is time that we have to in some way, given technological difficulties, call a halt to it. We have to do something to constrain this outpouring of hate.

Mainstream media should know better. At times, mainstream media—not so much in this state but certainly in the Eastern States, certainly on Fox News—are propagating a lot of this nonsense. They give free rein to One Nation and they give free rein to people like Fraser Anning. They use it as click bait; they use it to generate viewing audiences. I know that everybody in this chamber is better than that. I think that we as a party should reflect upon what we also did in one campaign in this state.

As the Liberal Party, as the Labor Party, as the Greens, as the crossbenchers in the other house, we are all better than that. We are at our best when we come together to condemn what has happened in New Zealand. However, we also have to address what is happening in Australia, in South Australia and in our communities and say that this is not good enough, that we all have to take a stand in our electorates and call out this behaviour for what it is. It is often racist, it is Islamophobic and it is just not on because the consequences can be dire.

We often look back on one of the worst examples, when six million Jews were exterminated in Germany. That did not come out of the blue. That came out of almost centuries of myth, lies and incredibly ugly things said about and done to the Jewish people in Europe, including the pogroms and that whole history. That historical context created a platform and a foundation for what the Nazis were able to get away with.

I am not saying that we are facing a commensurate situation here. We are not, but what we are facing is people who are virtually the ideological descendants of those people who did those things way back then. A lot of those memes come from those alt-right groups, from Neo-Fascist groups that have found an audience on Facebook and elsewhere. Let us all join together in calling this out and saying that it is unacceptable.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:58): The suburb of Park Holme is in the south-eastern corner of Morphett. As you walk through the streets, it is mostly lined with gum trees, many of them very large. Walking in the morning, you will often be met with the relaxing sound of lorikeets chirping in the treetops. It is certainly a peaceful part of the world. On Friday afternoons, if you happen to be walking along Condada Avenue or Cungena Avenue, the streets will start to fill up with parked cars, as worshippers make their way to the Marion mosque for Friday prayers.

Just last November, I joined some of my parliamentary colleagues, including the member for Elder, for the opening of the Al Salam Community Centre at the complex. This was the realisation of the Islamic Society of South Australia's vision for a hub in the inner south-west for diverse communities to gather and enjoy. The mosque itself is easily accessible from the street for worshippers attending prayers on Friday afternoon. These Friday prayers are replicated throughout Australia and other parts of the world, including Adelaide's sister city Christchurch, both cities having been so alike in 1972 when the relationship was established.

Additionally, similar scenes occur on Sundays in both these cities, as Christian congregations worship peacefully in churches that are, again, easily accessible and welcoming. In 2019, both cities are still similar in their culture and to some extent aligned enough to have a shared kinship, with both being far away from any conflict zones, so people are confident of coming home safely.

So it was expected to be last Friday 15 March in Park Holme, as people looked forward to the weekend, just as worshippers did at both the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, except last Friday an extremist terrorist motivated by hate walked into these Christchurch mosques and massacred innocent men, women and children while at the same time leaving many others injured and ripping apart families and friends. The warped gunman himself described the killings as terrorist acts and racist acts. It was an act of pure evil.

So, here in the parliament today, I along with all the other speakers and those who sit here take the opportunity to express our deepest sorrow for and abhorrence of this senseless killing. At these times, many emotions spring to mind, and they are no doubt different for each of us. Some of the raw emotions are fear, anger and sorrow—fear because the similarities between Christchurch and Adelaide make the event so relatable and so easy to visualise here. It was only last December, just before Christmas, when a worshipper at the Marion mosque was approached by someone off the street and punched. This generates fear of copycat attacks and reprisals.

We have also seen around the world Christians, Jews, Muslims, people just like us who have families, who love coming together to enjoy sport, going to school, holidaying or praying, all destroyed by terrorism. We need to overcome this fear and continue our way of life but, at the same time, as a community we must be vigilant and alert to people's strange behaviours. Anger is another emotion, and this is also where the community must be careful not to turn against each other, for in so doing we will do exactly what extremists hope for by dividing communities and inciting violence against each other.

One of the real strengths of our nation has been that we are a young country where everyone, except the Indigenous people, are immigrants. Luckily, our enemies have been the arid harsh environment and the tyranny of distance, and these factors have meant that we have had to work together to survive and that mateship is a highly valued national trait. We are not burdened by history and centuries-old intractable animosity and hatred. We offer new migrants a break from this. There is no better example than Australian Rules football matches where you see over 100,000 spectators come along, barracking for their opposing teams yet sitting alongside each other. There are not too many other places in the world where this is possible.

It is hard to divide Australians, so now more than ever we need to fight anger with respect and friendship. Friendship that comes in the form of human contact is so important. There has been plenty of commentary in this chamber but also more widely around the community about social media and connecting with people and the pros and cons of this. In fact this evil act perpetrated in Christchurch used social media to live stream the atrocity on Facebook, which was then virally mirrored on this and other platforms so rapidly. The internet has also become a tool of radicalisation to create extremists in the first place.

It is this parliament's responsibility to condemn this extremism and the terrorism that results. This community condemnation certainly has a role to play in not accepting this behaviour and trying to rule it out, but in addition Dora Abbas, the Chairperson of the Muslim Women's Association, urged that, now more than ever, parents spend more time with their children and that grandparents spend more time with their grandchildren—to seek out family involvement so that people do not feel isolated at a time when social media and the internet are used by extremists to amplify their voices and infiltrate the minds of the isolated and disenfranchised.

They prey on people who are looking for a sense of identity and self-worth, and the extremists give them a warped version of this. Therefore, the family unit is so important in providing a guard against this. We have seen pictures of the evil killer cradled in his father's arms as a young child, like so many other family pictures you see, and you wonder how evil could have got into that young child to create the atrocious acts we witnessed and heard about just last Friday.

In these times and tragic circumstances, the importance of family is always brought to mind and generates feelings of sorrow. We mourn the tragic loss of life and extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of all those affected by this appalling event. The government, this parliament and in fact all people of South Australia stand in solidarity with the people of Christchurch and the South Australian Muslim community.

No more so was this demonstrated than on Sunday, when the Islamic Society of South Australia, led by the society's president, Mr Ahmed Zreika, held vigil at the Marion mosque in Park Holme. It was attended by the Governor, His Excellency Hieu Van Le, the Premier and many members of this parliament, federal parliamentarians, the Muslim community and the wider South Australian community, all from multiple faiths and ethnicities.

The Premier's clear message to those present and the wider Muslim community in South Australia was that the government, the parliament and the people of South Australia condemn extremism and terrorism and stand together with the Muslim community. Professor Mohamad Abdalla spoke of the need for society to fight against dehumanising people based on race and religion. There was no talk of revenge but, rather, uplifting messages of tolerance and respect. Today, this motion reaffirms our commitment to be an inclusive and harmonious, multicultural society where people are valued.

At the mosque at Marion on Sunday, the flowers and messages of support to both New Zealanders and Muslims present at the mosque showed more generally that South Australia is an inclusive, multicultural society. Amongst the many messages of support from South Australians was a poem. It read, 'Evil will not divide us, love will unite us, compassion be our comfort.' On arrival and after the vigil, many in the Muslim community came up to me to offer their appreciation for the support that was shown by parliamentarians and the community leaders. It was highly valued by all. In addition, thanks go out to the police officers who were there for their support. They were also thanked by members of the Muslim community.

As we left the vigil, the sun was setting and the sea breeze cooled us all down after what had been a reasonably hot day. Again, in the distance you could hear the lorikeets, so uniquely Australian, reminding us of what a beautiful and peaceful place Park Holme and, more generally, South Australia is. Long may that be the case, and let peace return to Christchurch.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (16:08): I rise to add my support for the motion before us today. My sincere condolences go to the families in Christchurch, New Zealand, who lost loved ones, and to those who were injured in such tragic and devastating circumstances. I strongly believe equality, acceptance, inclusion and respect are values that, together as Australians, we need to continue to grow in our community, our schools, our sports clubs, our workplaces and our families. We must stand up against hatred, prejudice and discrimination and work even harder in our communities toward achieving greater tolerance, acceptance and understanding.

On Sunday evening, I joined with more than 2,000 people in the vigil at the mosque in Park Holme, where representatives from all walks of life, right across our Australian community, including churches, sports clubs, state and federal parliaments, councils, hospitals, schools, universities—both students and lecturers—families and individuals, gathered to show their support.

The tragedy that unfolded last Friday in a place of worship has highlighted the need for this. As leaders in the community—whether members of parliament, local councillors, coaches, referees in sporting organisations, journalists and media organisations, employers and bosses in workplaces, people in positions of authority in our community organisations, schools, churches and also our families—we all have an important role to play. There is no greater gift that we can deliver for our children and future generations than a world of peace and love. I commend the motion to the house.

Mrs POWER (Elder) (16:10): I rise to support the Premier's motion. In doing so, first and foremost I would like to pay my respects to the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives or were cruelly injured and to the wider New Zealand community, in particular Adelaide's sister city of Christchurch, who have been impacted by this violent massacre.

When one group of people practising their faith peacefully is targeted, attacked and brutally murdered, then it is an attack on all of us who attend a church or a mosque to practise our faith, whatever our faith might be. It is also an attack on all of us who cherish our diversity, our freedom, including our religious freedom, and our tolerant and peaceful way of life.

In supporting this motion, I also acknowledge and thank the Islamic Society of South Australia, headed up by its president, Ahmed Zreika, who provided the opportunity for us in Adelaide to come together on Sunday night at the mosque on Marion Road in Park Holme. It was a chance for us to unite as a community to stand in solidarity with New Zealand and with the Muslim community, both in New Zealand and here in our state and country. Unite and stand together, we must, not only during this time of grief, shock and horror but at all times on all days. With a heavy heart, I commend this motion to the house.

Ms MICHAELS (Enfield) (16:11): I rise to speak in support of this motion but I do not feel that my words will do this justice, so I am going to read parts of a letter I received from a gentleman by the name of Ikram on Saturday night. He wrote:

I am new in Australia with a family of six: my wife, three sons and a daughter. We landed in Australia in 2018 on 8 May. Before coming to Australia, the situation was a blur, we were not sure what would be the nature of the people here, would they even accept us or we will have to go through a lot of racism and hatred.

Like any other parents, we wanted to provide a quality lifestyle and education to our children. We came here with not much preparation. After coming to Australia, our first two nights were spent in a caravan park. On our first morning, when I woke up, someone knocked on our door. When I opened the door, there was this Aussie lady with a bright smile on her face. She asked me if we were new to Australia. I said, 'Yes, but how do you know?' She said, 'My partner and I saw you with the suitcases coming in last night. We wanted to meet you and say welcome to Australia but you look so tired, so I thought I would meet you in the morning.' I was a bit confused and surprised as it was not what I was expecting. She then left and I started getting ready to prepare breakfast for my family.

There was a knock on the cabin door again. I was not sure who it was going to be this time. I opened the door and it was her again. She had a cake, some chocolate and some toys. She said, 'If you don't mind, can I give these to your kids? I am sure you guys have not had anything to eat and my husband and I brought these for you.'

We then moved to North Adelaide, found a unit for ourselves, and here the property lady (Aussie again), her name is Heather, met us, she helped us through our tough days…showed us the bus routes, brought us groceries, eggs, milk and other kids' stuff. She said, 'You are new here. This is a small welcome from us Aussies.' My wife and I were confused for a moment. Did we really come to Australia or Heaven because whoever we met was so friendly, no racism, no hatred, no discrimination. I started to believe that our decision of picking Australia for the bright future of our kids was the best decision we ever made.

I am currently working as a manager at the IGA Blair Athol, I have a lot of Aussie customers who are my best friends…It was just this last Friday…when I came from the mosque and read the newspapers and saw online about the most brutal attack on Muslims that were offering Friday prayers in a mosque in New Zealand. Many people had…different thoughts, the attacker was recognised as Australian and all of a sudden I came across very bad and negative comments from people with [a different school of thought]. But, I will not agree with them at all, for me, Australia is a very beautiful country that is full of people that are angels. Their lovely hearts, smiley faces and willingness to help us…shall not be ignored, just because some ill-tempered and sick person did something bad.

Terrorism has no religion, we will always have this threat no matter what religious beliefs we have, but we must not forget that religion comes later, it is the humanity that comes first. We need to be better humans first…Please don't drag Australia in this bad incident. It was done by an individual, who had some problems…I have met many Australians, in the last…nine months [who are] honest…caring, and they are beautiful with a heart that believes in sharing all the good times. Being a Muslim, I have no fear from any Australian and I feel safe with my family, I am proud that all the Australians are standing by our side and I assure the same to them that we will stand by all the Aussies for this is what they deserve. It is Australia that showed its trust in us and I believe it is our turn to show Australians that their decision of sharing their land with us was right. We love you Australia and we will never let you down.

Islam is a religion of peace. We are peaceful, and that is the way it should be. The terror attack was a mistake made by someone who was recognised as Australian…I am not an Australian as I don't have citizenship yet, but I already feel that I am an Aussie, I want to share the good side and share all the good gestures with my Aussie friends. Australia is in pain in this crucial time, we will need to support it. We will never forget about what happened to those innocent people, but at the same time we should not lose our grip and focus on making Australia an even better country. This is our moral, ethical, religious and humanitarian duty.

Let us help the nation to come out of this grave time as soon as possible, bring smiles, happiness and joy back and let the people shout with love and proudness again, let them say Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

I went to the mosque on Sunday night with many other members from here, and yesterday I went across to the IGA at Blair Athol, right across the road from my electorate office, and met Ikram, who was surprised that I had walked across the road to meet him. I can say that he is a truly optimistic person, that he is truly compassionate and what I believe Australia is about, and I hope we will all remember that as time goes by. I give my deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand and I also commend this motion to the house.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (16:17): I rise also to commend the Premier's motion to the house. First, can I share with other honourable members in conveying my heartfelt condolences to all those who were hurt or indeed killed in these horrible events that we have heard reported in Christchurch and are now dominating our news. I hope and pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured, and our hearts go out to their families and friends and the extended community of those who have been affected directly by these horrible events.

I cannot put it any better than did the Prime Minister of New Zealand in the immediate aftermath of her first coming to have detailed knowledge of what was panning out in Christchurch last week, and I will just share one of several articulate and heartfelt precise reflections of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. She said on 15 March:

Our thoughts and our prayers are with those who have been impacted today. Christchurch was the home...For many this may not have been the place [where] they were born. In fact, for many New Zealand was their choice, the place they actively came to and committed to...the place they were raising their families, where they were part of communities that they loved and who loved them [in return]. It was a place that many came to for its safety, a place where they were free to practise their culture and their religion.

The Prime Minister continued:

…we, New Zealand, we were not a target because we are a safe harbour for those who hate. We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of these things, because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those that share our values, a refuge for those who need it, and those values...will not and cannot be shaken by this attack.

We are a proud nation of more than 200 ethnicities, 160 languages, and amongst that diversity we share common values, and the one that we place currency on right now is our compassion and the support for the community of those directly affected by this tragedy, and, secondly, the strongest possible condemnation of the ideology of the people that did this.

You may have chosen us, but we utterly reject and condemn you.

I repeat those remarks because I know that we all in South Australia wholeheartedly identify with them and would describe our state in precisely the same terms. We could not have a more close relationship with our brothers and sisters in New Zealand, and we share very much all that is conveyed by the Prime Minister in those comments.

I also share those remarks at some length because I have reflected upon the very hard practical work that is ahead of those who would legislate in New Zealand, those who would lead the community, and in every respect now must pick up and carry on and do the hard work in the wake of these terrible events. That will be hard work day in, day out, and we have seen the Prime Minister continue that work over the weekend and in the commencement of this week.

It will include things like the urgent consideration of changes to gun laws, investigations as to how this has come about, care for those affected and any number of hard and practical matters that will need attention. I would urge all of us in this house to bear that in mind and to provide whatever practical support we can. I for one have been particularly impressed with the tremendous leadership that has already been on display by the Prime Minister in particular.

I also wish to reflect more locally on the experience of one of our local leaders, the Dean of St Peter's Cathedral. Frank Nelson and his wife, Christine, are New Zealanders. They came from New Zealand some years ago when Frank took up the role of the dean of the cathedral. Frank has a brother and a sister in Christchurch, and 14 members of his extended family are living there. Indeed, his first position in the clergy was in Christchurch and very close, he tells me, to the mosque at which these terrible events transpired.

Frank observed to me, as others have done in the course of this debate, that all those in Christchurch have in fact been retraumatised by these terrible events. It is only a few short years ago that the city went through the horrendous natural trauma of earthquakes. We are all aware of that. Frank is very conscious of the fact that many people suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of those earthquakes and that there will be a widespread experience of retraumatisation.

I want to note that the dean, together with the archbishop and Lynn Arnold, joined many others at services in mosques across the metropolitan area, including at Marryatville on Sunday, which the archbishop and Lynn Arnold attended. There was also a gathering at the city mosque on Saturday evening, which the dean attended. I note that there will be special prayers at Evensong at the cathedral tomorrow evening at 5.30, and I understand that there is to be a multifaith service at St Francis Xavier Cathedral at 4 o'clock this Sunday among, no doubt, many other outpourings of thoughts and prayers for all those affected in Christchurch. May we do all we possibly can to ensure that this never happens again.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (16:26): I, too, rise to support the motion, to send my condolences and love to the people of Christchurch and to wish them, all New Zealanders everywhere and all Muslims everywhere God's strength as they come to terms with what was an absolutely horrific act. Back in July 2016, I was on a holiday in Christchurch with my son. We were walking through this city, which, as people have mentioned, is a sister city to Adelaide and has a lot of the design characteristics of Adelaide. We were walking through those streets five years after the devastating earthquakes that killed 185 people, flattened so many buildings in that city and displaced thousands and thousands of people.

It felt sad to be walking there, knowing that buildings once stood where now there were just empty spaces and that buildings once stood where now there were shipping containers that had been turned into souvenir stalls and other shops. But then we started talking to the people. They had an amazing resilience and an amazingly optimistic outlook despite the physical characteristics of their city being so devastated and the make-up of their city being so torn apart because so many people had left Christchurch.

One of the things that really stood out was a neon sign that was about 25 to 30 metres long and went along the entirety of a building. We walked past it at about 7.30 at night in the middle of winter, and each of its letters was in a different colour. It said: 'Everything is going to be alright,' and I think that sums up the attitude of the people of Christchurch. We wish them well over the coming weeks, months and years because this is going to be a lot to deal with.

It has been interesting to see the political reaction to this as well. I do not think that anyone could fault New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. She has done an amazing job. She has proved herself to be an outstanding leader. The reaction here in Australia has also been good. Over the weekend, we saw our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, stand side by side with members and leaders of the Muslim community in New South Wales. At the same time, the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, was in his home state of Victoria doing the same thing in Melbourne.

I hope that this coming together can continue because the person who committed this atrocity is an Australian. I think we have changed over the past 2½ decades to the Australia that we were perhaps in the 1970s when we had Malcolm Fraser as our prime minister and here in South Australia we had Don Dunstan as our premier. I think we were then a much more tolerant, loving and caring society as a nation and indeed as a state.

I remember at school having the best lesson on compassion, love and understanding, not from the priests and brothers of the de La Salle community at St Michael's, but by a kid called Tony Engelhardt, who was a refugee from Vietnam, whose body was covered in blisters and scars from a napalm attack. Tony Engelhardt taught me all about being welcoming and that it did not matter what you looked like, where you came from or what your religion was, we are all human beings. We have a Governor now who was a refugee from Vietnam. We were so welcoming.

In 1994, 1995 and until early 1996, I lived in Switzerland. The war that was taking place in former Yugoslavia was seeing widespread atrocities, deaths and a lot of refugees fleeing from there. I was talking to Swiss people who did not want to welcome any of these people as refugees. I proudly told them how Australia was a wonderful multicultural country and that we had a prime minister, Paul Keating, who was espousing the virtues of embracing Asia and making sure that the people of our country were not xenophobic in their attitude to those who may come from a different part of the world or practise a different religion from that of some other Australians.

So, for two years, living in Europe, I told this story about what a wonderful multicultural country we were and how we welcomed people from around the world and that we had wave after wave of migration. Our state and indeed our nation was built on all these waves of migration. In early 1996, I returned home to live in Adelaide. There was a federal election campaign on. I turned on the television and there was a guy with a big hat called Bob Katter, whom I had never seen before. He was talking about 'slanty-eyed ideologues'.

Then this other woman turned up, who owned a fish and chip shop in Queensland, and she was saying that we were being invaded by Asians and that she spoke for 90 per cent of Australians. I could not believe that I was actually hearing people who wanted to put their hand up to be in federal parliament speaking that way. It seemed so far removed from the Australia that I had left two years earlier.

Then what we saw was this inflaming of racial hatred by some of these far right politicians. What followed was perhaps a dropping of the guard by both major parties. What followed after September 11 also played a role perhaps in our not being as fair and as compassionate to people from overseas. We saw the Baxter detention centre and the Woomera detention centre open where people like Saeid Safavi—a refugee from Iran, who now has a great little cafe in Port Pirie—were locked up for about two years.

I think we may have made some mistakes and we may have lost our way, but what we saw on the weekend, with the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, was an actual coming together and joining with those of Muslim faith in Melbourne and Sydney to send a message to all Australians that we must return to that place of understanding and compassion because that is the only way we are going to defeat these far right fundamentalists. They do live amongst us. They are on social media and they are propagating some fairly awful hatred towards people from different countries and different religious beliefs.

Senator Fraser Anning has been widely criticised and so he should be. I know the federal Labor Party has come out today and said that it is going to put Fraser Anning last and also encourage people to put One Nation last at the upcoming federal election. I am sure that the Liberal Party is also giving that consideration. I think that is something that we need to do. If any good is to come out of the horrific situation in New Zealand last Friday, may it be that Australians change the way they view these right-wing extremists who live amongst us. I think it is incumbent on all politicians, regardless of which party they are in or whether they are in state or federal parliament, to call it out as well.

Last year, after Pauline Hanson turned up in a burqa, we heard a terrific speech by George Brandis and I think that is what we need to do. We need to congratulate those who are brave enough and strong enough to speak up and absolutely condemn those who add fuel to the fire of hatred and right-wing extremist views.

Another thing that we saw over the past four or five days—and we saw it immediately because not only did this killer do this awful thing but he streamed it live through Facebook—is social media being used in a way that I do not think we have ever seen before. It is a change in MO and something that both traditional media and social media have to really get on top of. They need to change the way things are done. If that requires federal and state changes to legislation, we all need to work on that as well.

Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison's press conferences were streamed live over the weekend. I watched them on Facebook through the television network's coverage. People were allowed to comment and the sorts of comments that were being made were full of hate. There must be a way for media organisations to cut that out and, perhaps in the extreme cases, for the police and other agencies to chase those people up who are saying some of those things on social media.

I return now to the people of Christchurch and to that sign that was erected after the earthquakes: 'Everything is going to be alright.' Let's hope that it is not just in Christchurch but in our part of the world as well. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (16:38): I would like to thank all members for their contribution to this important motion. I am very pleased that it is a motion we could deal with as soon as parliament resumed. I think it is very important for us to be able to place on the record our condemnation of the activity that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday last week.

It seems to me that the themes covered by the various speakers all centre around our horror, shock and dismay at what occurred in Christchurch but also our appreciation for the way that the Muslim community in South Australia has dealt with this extraordinarily difficult event for them and for their community. Many speakers have reflected that this could have gone one of two ways. The Muslim community has every right to be angry and feel very threatened by what has occurred. What we have seen is an outpouring of tolerance within the Muslim community in South Australia and respect for diversity.

The coming together at the mosque on Sunday afternoon was really a moment when everybody across the political divide stopped and came together, led by His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, Governor of South Australia, with speakers from right across the political spectrum all saying with one voice that we must do everything we can to maintain the harmonious multicultural relations that we have in South Australia. It is something that we should all be very rightly proud of in this state. It is something that we should never, ever take for granted. In fact, it is something that we must all—all—do everything we can to protect and nurture going forward.

When we look on the television at what has occurred not just in Christchurch but also in other places around the world, sometimes other places around the country, we can see what happens when we are not tolerant, when we are not respectful, when we do not embrace diversity. We have been extraordinarily fortunate with the tolerance that we have here. We must never take it for granted.

I for one will use this horrible, shocking event to double my effort and my focus, and the government's effort and government's focus, in making sure that we do everything to continue to promote diversity, tolerance and respect in South Australia. I commend the motion to the house.

The SPEAKER: Members, we express our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of all those who are affected by this appalling event. I ask members to please rise so that the motion can be carried in the customary manner.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT