Migration

Senator BABET (Victoria—United Australia Party Whip) (14:58): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Minister Watt. Minister, in a media interview yesterday you said: 'We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that's going on today. It's not about increasing social harmony; it's about spreading hate and division in our community.' Minister, how does the current record-high level of immigration encourage social harmony?

Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for the Environment and Water) (14:59): I can certainly tell you one thing that doesn't encourage social harmony in Australia, and that is overt support for the kinds of rallies we saw yesterday and that is oppositions who aspire to be future governments of this country opposing Senate motions like we saw about an hour ago that sought to affirm that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races and religions. That's what we saw.

Senator Cash: We supported that motion—

Senator WATT: No, no, no. Have a look back at what you did. You opposed a motion in the Senate that affirmed that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races and religions. The Liberal Party of Australia, opposed a motion that rejected the racism, white supremacy and condemnation of immigrants on display at rallies held over the weekend. That is the so-called Liberal Party of Australia.

I don't resile for one moment from the comments that I made yesterday and, interestingly, comments that were made by some members of the opposition before the rallies where they also condemned those rallies. But, as I say, the minute the rallies happened, they ran away from their position at a rate of knots. We saw in the lead-up to those rallies the opposition leader, Ms Ley, put up a video saying, 'There is no place for violence, racism or intimidation,' trying to take a stand against some of the views that were expressed at those rallies on the weekend. But what we saw at those rallies then was Neo-Nazis addressing the Melbourne rally, that rally ending with attacking the site of Aboriginal resistance in Melbourne and a sacred resting place, an Adelaide protester carrying a placard in support of an alleged cop killer and speeches blaming migrants for housing shortages. That's what we saw at those rallies over the weekend. Then, when offered an opportunity to support a motion of the Senate that affirmed that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races and religions, the opposition voted against it. When offered an opportunity to support a motion rejecting racism and the white supremacy that we saw at the rallies, the opposition voted against that. Shame on you. (Time expired)

The PRESIDENT: Senator Babet, a first supplementary?

Senator BABET (Victoria—United Australia Party Whip) (15:01): Minister, the vast majority of people that were there yesterday at the march were just everyday mums and dads, grandparents and struggling workers, and many were immigrants themselves. Do you seriously believe that, as you said on Sky News yesterday, these people were motivated by hate and division or are you going to concede that they were just motivated by a genuine concern for their country and their standard of living?

Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for the Environment and Water) (15:01): There are plenty of ways that people can express their love of their country or express their concern about cost of living. One way that some people have chosen to do that is to attend rallies that are being addressed by Neo-Nazis. I don't think that is the right way to express your concern about your country, and I don't think that the views that we had on display at those rallies yesterday represented Australian values whatsoever. Australian values are about a fair go for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Australian values are about standing up for someone who is less fortunate than yourself, not what we saw yesterday. The values that were expressed at those rallies yesterday were not Australian values.

Honourable senators interjecting—

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Order, across the chamber!

The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator McKim, you continue to speak over me when I've called for order. Once again, you are being disrespectful to the chair. Minister Watt, please continue.

Senator WATT: I know that in their hearts there are some members of the opposition who agree with what I'm saying, people like Senator Bragg, who was interviewed about the effect of anti-migrant policies on the coalition's vote at the last election. He said:

Someone said to me, 'if you're a migrant, you got blamed for the housing crisis. If your parent was a dual national, you could get deported.' And that wasn't a very good starting point for our campaign.

Senator Bragg knows— (Time expired)

The PRESIDENT: Senator Babet, a second supplementary?

Senator BABET (Victoria—United Australia Party Whip) (15:03): Minister, when is your government going to stop insulting everyday Australians and start listening to them by ending the reckless policy of unsustainable mass migration? We all agree with migration, but the problem is the mass migration. It's putting enormous pressure on housing, infrastructure and community cohesion.