3rd
Oct 2004
AS
WE APPROACH ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL ELECTION IT MIGHT BE WORTH
RE-VISITING
THE FAMOUS MAIDEN SPEECH OF THE FORMER MEMBER FOR OXLEY - PAULINE
HANSON
(Who will be standing in this election as an independant)
"Mr Acting
Speaker, in making my first speech in this place, I congratulate you on
your election and wish to say how proud I am to be here as the
Independent
member for Oxley. I come here not as a polished politician but as a
woman
who has had her fair share of life's knocks.
My view
on issues is based on commonsense, and my experience as a mother of
four
children, as a sole parent, and as a businesswoman running a fish and
chip
shop. I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in
me being called a racist. That issue related to my comment that
Aboriginals
received more benefits than non-Aboriginals.
We now
have a situation where a type of reverse racism is applied to
mainstream
Australians by those who promote political correctness and those who
control
the various taxpayer funded `industries' that flourish in our society
servicing
Aboriginals, multiculturalists and a host of other minority groups. In
response to my call for equality for all Australians, the most noisy
criticism
came from the fat cats, bureaucrats and the do- gooders. They screamed
the loudest because they stand to lose the most--their power, money and
position, all funded by ordinary Australian taxpayers.
Present
governments are encouraging separatism in Australia by providing
opportunities,
land, moneys and facilities available only to Aboriginals. Along with
millions
of Australians, I am fed up to the back teeth with the inequalities
that
are being promoted by the government and paid for by the taxpayer under
the assumption that Aboriginals are the most disadvantaged people in
Australia.
I do not believe that the colour of one's skin determines whether you
are
disadvantaged. As Paul Hasluck said in parliament in October 1955 when
he was Minister for Territories:
The distinction
I make is this. A social problem is one that concerns the way in which
people live together in one society. A racial problem is a problem
which
confronts two different races who live in two separate societies, even
if those societies are side by side. We do not want a society in
Australia
in which one group enjoy one set of privileges >and another group
enjoy
another set of privileges.
Has luck's
vision was of a single society in which racial emphases were rejected
and
social issues addressed. I totally agree with him, and so would the
majority
of Australians.
But, remember,
when he gave his speech he was talking about the privileges that white
Australians were seen to be enjoying over Aboriginals. Today, 41 years
later, I talk about the exact opposite--the privileges Aboriginals
enjoy
over other Australians. I have done research on benefits available only
to Aboriginals and challenge anyone to tell me how Aboriginals are
disadvantaged
when they can obtain three and five per cent housing loans denied to
non-Aboriginals.
This nation
is being divided into black and white, and the present system
encourages
this. I am fed up with being told, `This is our land.' Well, where the
hell do I go? I was born here, and so were my parents and children. I
will
work beside anyone and they will be my equal but I draw the line when
told
I must pay and continue paying for something that happened over 200
years
ago. Like most Australians, I worked for my land; no-one gave it to me.
Apart
from the $40 million spent so far since Mabo on native title claims,
the
government has made available $1 billion for Aboriginals and Torres
Strait
Islanders as compensation for land they cannot claim under native
title.
Bear in mind that the $40 million spent so far in native title has gone
into the pockets of grateful lawyers and consultants. Not one native
title
has been granted as I speak.
The majority
of Aboriginals do not want handouts because they realise that welfare
is
killing them. This quote says it all: "If you give a man a fish you
feed
him for a day. If you teach him how to fish you feed him for a
lifetime."
Those
who feed off the Aboriginal industry do not want to see things changed.
Look at the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Members receive $290
a day sitting allowance and $320 a day travelling allowance, and most
of
these people also hold other very well paid positions. No wonder they
did
not want to resign recently!
Reconciliation
is everyone recognising and treating each other as equals, and everyone
must be responsible for their own actions. This is why I am calling for
ATSIC to be abolished. It is a failed, hypocritical and discriminatory
organisation that has failed dismally the people it was meant to serve.
It will take more than Senator Herron's surgical skills to correct the
terminal mess it is in. Anyone with a criminal record can, and does,
hold
a position with ATSIC. I cannot hold my position as a politician if I
have
a criminal record--once again, two sets of rules.
If politicians
continue to promote separatism in Australia, they should not continue
to
hold their seats in this parliament. They are not truly representing
all
Australians, and I call on the people to throw them out. To survive in
peace and harmony, united and strong, we must have one people, one
nation,
one flag.
The greatest
cause of family breakdown is unemployment. This country of ours has the
richest mineral deposits in the world and vast rich lands for
agriculture
and is surrounded by oceans that provide a wealth of seafood, and yet
we
are $190 billion in debt with an interest bill that is strangling us.
Youth
unemployment between the ages of 15 to 24 runs at 25 per cent and is
even
higher in my electorate of Oxley. Statistics, by cooking the books, say
that Australia's unemployment is at 8.6 per cent, or just under one
million
people. If we disregard that one hour's work a week classifies a person
as employed, then the figure is really between 1.5 million and 1.9
million
unemployed. This is a crisis that recent governments have ignored
because
of a lack of will. We are regarded as a Third World country with First
World living conditions. We have one of the highest interest rates in
the
world, and we owe more money per capita than any other country. All we
need is a nail hole in the bottom of the boat and we're sunk.
In real
dollar terms, our standard of living has dropped over the past 10
years.
In the 1960s, our wages increase ran at three per cent and unemployment
at two per cent. Today, not only is there no wage increase, we have
gone
backwards and unemployment is officially 8.6 per cent. The real figure
must be close to 12 to 13 per cent.
I wish
to comment briefly on some social and legal problems encountered by
many
of my constituents-- problems not restricted to just my electorate of
Oxley.
I refer to the social and family upheaval created by the Family Law Act
and the ramifications of that act embodied in the child support scheme.
The Family Law Act, which was the child of the disgraceful Senator
Lionel
Murphy, should be repealed. It has brought death, misery and heartache
to countless thousands of Australians. Children are treated like pawns
in some crazy game of chess.
The child
support scheme has become unworkable, very unfair and one sided.
Custodial
parents can often profit handsomely at the expense of a parent paying
child
support, and in many cases the non-custodial parent simply gives up
employment
to escape the, in many cases, heavy and punitive financial demands.
Governments
must give to all those who have hit life's hurdles the chance to
rebuild
and have a future.
We have
lost all our big Australian industries and icons, including Qantas when
it sold 25 per cent of its shares and a controlling interest to British
Airways. Now this government wants to sell Telstra, a company that made
a $1.2 billion profit last year and will make a $2 billion profit this
year. But, first, they want to sack 54,000 employees to show better
profits
and share prices. Anyone with business sense knows that you do not sell
off your assets especially when they are making money. I may be only `a
fish and chip shop lady', but some of these economists need to get
their
heads out of the textbooks and get a job in the real world. I would not
even let one of them handle my grocery shopping.
Immigration
and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to
address,
but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any
debate
by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration
policy
radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we
are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per
cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin.
They
have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not
assimilate.
Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want
into
my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into
my
country. A truly multicultural country can never be strong or united.
The
world is full of failed and tragic examples, ranging from Ireland to
Bosnia
to Africa and, closer to home, Papua New Guinea. America and Great
Britain
are currently paying the price.
Arthur
Calwell was a great Australian and Labor leader, and it is a pity that
there are not men of his stature sitting on the opposition benches
today.
Arthur Calwell said:
Japan,
India, Burma, Ceylon and every new African nation are fiercely
anti-white
and anti one another. Do we want or need any of these people here? I am
one red-blooded Australian who says no and who speaks for 90% of
Australians.
I have
no hesitation in echoing the words of Arthur Calwell.
There
is light at the end of the tunnel and there are solutions. If this
government
wants to be fair dinkum, then it must stop kowtowing to financial
markets,
international organisations, world bankers, investment companies and
big
business people. The Howard government must become visionary and be
prepared
to act, even at the risk of making mistakes.
In this
financial year we will be spending at least $1.5 billion on foreign aid
and we cannot be sure that this money will be properly spent, as
corruption
and mismanagement in many of the recipient countries are legend.
Australia
must review its membership and funding of the UN, as it is a little
like
ATSIC on a grander scale, with huge tax-free American dollar salaries,
duty-free luxury cars and diplomatic status.
The World
Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva
while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients are
forced
to seek medication on the black market. I am going to find out how many
treaties we have signed with the UN, have them exposed and then call
for
their repudiation. The government should cease all foreign aid
immediately
and apply the savings to generate employment here at home.
Abolishing
the policy of multiculturalism will save billions of dollars and allow
those from ethnic backgrounds to join mainstream Australia, paving the
way to a strong, united country. Immigration must be halted in the
short-term
so that our dole queues are not added to by, in many cases, unskilled
migrants
not fluent in the English language. This would be one positive step to
rescue many young and older Australians from a predicament which has
become
a national disgrace and crisis. I must stress at this stage that I do
not
consider those people from ethnic backgrounds currently living in
Australia
anything but first-class citizens, provided of course that they give
this
country their full, undivided loyalty.
The government
must be imaginative enough to become involved, in the short-term at
least,
in job creating projects that will help establish the foundation for a
resurgence of national development and enterprise. Such schemes would
be
the building of the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line, new roads and
ports, water conservation, reafforestation and other sensible and
practical
environmental projects.
Therefore
I call for the introduction of national service for a period of 12
months,
compulsory for males and females upon finishing year 12 or reaching 18
years of age. This could be a civil service with a touch of military
training,
because I do not feel we can go on living in a dream world forever and
a day believing that war will never touch our lives again.
The government
must do all it can to help reduce interest rates for business. How can
we compete with Japan, Germany and Singapore, who enjoy rates of two
per
cent, 5.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively? Reduced tariffs on
foreign
goods that compete with local products seem only to cost Australians
their
jobs. We must look after our own before lining the pockets of overseas
countries and investors at the expense of our living standards and
future.
Mr Acting
Speaker, time is running out. We may have only 10 to 15 years left to
turn
things around. Because of our resources and our position in the world,
we will not have a say because neighbouring countries such as Japan,
with
125 million people; China, with 1.2 billion people; India, with 846
million
people; Indonesia, with 178 million people; and Malaysia, with 20
million
people are well aware of our resources and potential. Wake up,
Australia,
before it is too late. Australians need and want leaders who can
inspire
and give hope in difficult times. Now is the time for the Howard
government
to accept the challenge.
Mr Acting
Speaker, everything I have said is relevant to my electorate of Oxley,
which is typical of mainstream Australia. I do have concerns for my
country
and I am going to do my best to speak my mind and stand up for what I
believe
in. As an independent I am confident that I can look after the needs of
the people of Oxley and I will always be guided by their advice. It is
refreshing to be able to express my views without having to toe a party
line. It has got me into trouble on the odd occasion, but I am not
going
to stop saying what I think. I consider myself just an ordinary
Australian
who wants to keep this great country strong and independent, and my
greatest
desire is to see all Australians treat each other as equals as we
travel
together towards the new century.
I will
fight hard to keep my seat in this place, but that will depend on the
people
who sent me here. Mr Acting Speaker, I thank you for your attention and
trust that you will not think me presumptuous if I dedicate this speech
to the people of Oxley and those Australians who have supported me. I
salute
them all." - Pauline Hanson.
WESTERN
AUSTRALIAN TAX CUTS BY GALLOP LEAVE THE PEOPLE POORER
The Beslan Atrocity
