The Independent Member for the Queensland seat of Oxley, Pauline Hanson, made a very worthwhile contribution in her maiden speech in Parliament this week.
She told the Parliament, “”I believe we are in danger of being of being swamped by Asians. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.” She called for the immediate end to all foreign aid and said that Aborigines were not disadvantaged; to the contrary they were advantaged over other Australians because dome benefits like low-interest housing loans were available to them.
And why is this a worthwhile contribution? Because it will put the lie to the nonsense that somehow there is a “”politically correct” movement in Australia that is capable of stifling debate and silencing those who disagree with the “”politically correct line”.
Pauline Hanson’s contribution proves that extreme views can be expressed in Australia; they are not suppressed. She could have delivered the same speech outside Parliament with equal impunity. She would not be jailed, fined or forced to recant by a “”politically correct” tribunal.
Her contribution is worthwhile on another count. As an MP she can be a rallying point for others who hold similar views and thus the strength of support for those views can be tested.
She said she spoke for 90 per cent of Australians. Her views were widely reported, so those 90 per cent of Australians for whom she speaks know where to put their vote at the next election … to Pauline-Hanson-endorsed independents who will presumably stand in every electorate.
The Liberal, National, Labor, Democrat and Green parties better start revising their platforms lest they be swamped by the 90 per cent onslaught.