Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
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The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane
Mr Shaoquett Moselmane returns to the Parliament
(by; Zahid Jamil exclusive for Sada-e-Watan Sydney
and Muslim Times)
After
months of controversy, The Hon Shaoquett Moselmane MLC is set to return to NSW
Parliament on Thursday 22 Oct 2020. This comes on the back of The NSW
Parliamentary Privileges Committee had reiterated the news that Mr Moselmane is
not the objective of the foreign interference investigation. It therefore
cleared the way for his dignified return to the House.
Mr Peter
Primrose, former President of Legislative Council of New South Wales, now chair
of this Committee moved the motion on the report unanimously endorsed by the
Privileges Committee and agreed to by the House. Mr Primrose appreciated the
members of the committee for their non-partisan and professional work which led
to an agreed outcome.
Hon Shaoquett Moselmane, during his Parliamentary
career, spanning more than ten years, has been a champion for disadvantaged
communities in Australia and internationally. At times, he faced difficult
situation for his outspoken criticism of Israeli treatment of the Palestinian
people. In March 2013, Mr Moselmane made a parliamentary speech describing Gaza
as "the world's largest open-air prison camp" and praised resistance groups who
fought against the Israeli occupation in Lebanon. He also faced opposition
within the Labor party from members of the NSW Parliament's Friends of Israel
group. Pro-Israel lobbyists continued their campaign against Mr Moselmane due
to his firm commitment to the Palestinian cause.
Mr Moselmane has been
proactive in raising awareness about the oppression of marginalised communities
around the world. I attended a seminar, organised by Mr Moselmane , to bring
awareness of massacre of Rohingya in Myanmar, addressed by Hon Bob Carr. Such
engagements have been regular feature during his political career.
Mr
Moselmane advocated against religious discrimination bills when former Prime
Minister Tony Abbott and his Attorney-General sought to make changes to the
Racial Discrimination Act, specifically to repeal section 18C. Section 18C
states that we cannot offend, assault, humiliate or intimidate any other person
or a group of people because of their race, colour, national or ethnic origin.
Mr Moselmane expressed his concerns openly stating that the Racial
Discrimination Act and Anti-Discrimination Act in New South Wales fail to
address the sufferings that religious minorities and in particular Islamic
communities face on a daily basis.
Mr Moselmane supported the
Multicultural communities and applauded efforts of the work the community
associations do, including the volunteering associations of which I am a
member.
Since 2012, Mr Moselmane has been raising funds from
multicultural communities to help the Australia-based charity, Wheelchairs For
Kids Inc. He organised delivery of over 4000 wheelchairs to disabled children
in Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan. He has now established his own
Charity Kids-On-Wheels a registered charity he hopes to raise money to help the
poor and the needy.
We are confident that Mr Moselmane, a great friend
of ordinary people and a champion of humanitarian causes, will be cleared of
all allegations.
About the Author
Zahid Jamil is an active member of the Indian and South Asian
Muslim community. He heads South Asian Muslim Association of Australia, SAMAA
(http://samaa.org.au/), a benevolent
institution offering wide range of services to the community elders. He also
heads "Indian Minority Education Society of Australia" (IMESA) https://imesa.org.au/,
a body engaged in educating poorest Muslim children in India. He has been a
passionate writer on various internet forums and in community newspapers for a
long time. He also spoke regularly on Sydney's community radios and on
Australian talk back radios.
