Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT ABOUT PARIS, LEBANON AND IRAQ TERRORIST ATTACKS
The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE [11.20
a.m.]: I speak on this very important motion.
First of all I express my sympathies to the Cheng family. The sad loss of an
innocent life taken by a 15-year-old child was a shocking act condemned by all
decent-thinking human beings. I take this opportunity to also express my
sincerest condolences to the families of all those whose innocent lives were
taken by a heinous act of terror carried out by ISIS in the French capital. The
terror attacks which targeted the Bataclan concert venue and the Stade de
France football stadium, along with cafes and restaurants, left 131 people dead
and many more injured.
Similar horrors were executed in other countries
around the globe: Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Nigeria, Kenya, many of the African States, China, and many
others we do not hear of—attacks committed by ISIS, al-Nusra and the many
sister terrorist groups in Syria and in Iraq—al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and many
others too numerous to mention. They should all be condemned. No-one should
play to their tunes for foreign policy interests. I offer condolences to the
Russians and the families of the 240 innocent victims holidaying at Sharm
el-Sheikh in Egypt and to those of Christian faith and other people of faith in
the Middle East, including the Palestinian people, who have suffered 70 years
of oppression.
Terrorism has not, does not
and will not discriminate between Muslim and non-Muslim, between Arab and
non-Arab, between poor and rich or between young and old. It has impacted on
Muslims of all colours, Christians of all denominations, Yazidis, Kurds, Copts
and any other minority that exists in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the
picture we get in Australia of what is happening in the Middle East is a
distorted keyhole view of the world as dictated by those in power and narrated
by those entrusted with producing the agenda.
Those in
positions of dominance construct knowledge and manufacture truths, stereotyping
and categorising people. Manufacturing assumptions about violence due to
Muslims as innate barbarism and tribalism is wrong and should not be
perpetuated. Such representations become language, institutionalised and
normalised, reproducing a narrative about the other, in this case the Muslims,
as barbaric. That is how certain structures of knowledge become the dominant
norm and that is why in Australia and around the world Muslims are depicted as
a security threat, a threat to public safety, a cultural threat or an economic
threat.
This skewed view of Islam legitimises public hate campaigns and
thus lays the ground for further vilification and hatred of Muslims in
Australia. It legitimises the nasty, trashy, vitriolic, hate-based attacks that
we often witness in public and sometimes here in this House. The Islamic
community, like any other community, is made up of people who go on with their
daily lives like any other citizen. They work, they earn a living, they raise
their kids and they contribute to the overall good of society. They have no
more power or authority over criminals—in this instance, terrorists—than any
other citizen. They do not sit in the wee hours of the night plotting the
destruction of the State.
Therefore people should not blame the
Islamic community for what is currently unfolding. Muslim Australians deplore
ISIS, condemn their attacks and are angry that they commit such horrific acts
of violence in the name of Islam.
We have
faith in the Australian Federal Police Specialist Response Group, the
Australian Federal Police Protective Service, the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service, the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police and the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The Counter Terrorism and
Special Tactics Command is responsible for the NSW Police Force's preparedness
for, prevention of and response to the threat of terrorism in New South Wales.
There is also the Coordinated Response Group, the Anti-Terrorism and Security
Group, the Operations Group, the State Protection Group and other groups within
New South Wales police including the Middle East crime squad and many others.
We have many security institutions and agencies that can keep us safe. Having
said that, I believe everyone has a role to play—and that means
everyone.
Finally I take this opportunity to raise a very important issue
for all to note. The State Government will reportedly overhaul hate speech
laws. Attorney General Upton says, "The laws just don't work." And I agree. The
Attorney is right. They do not work, particularly for the Muslim community in
Australia.
One of the reasons is that neither the
New South Wales anti-discrimination law nor the Commonwealth racial
vilification laws provide the Muslim community with necessary protections. It
is time we fixed that. This is why in New South Wales we must immediately stop
such attacks on this community and we must amend the New South Wales
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 to include religion as a ground of discrimination.
With the exception of one or two States, all other State and Territory laws
have religion, religious activity, belief, affiliation or religious conviction
as a ground for unlawful discrimination. The Government needs to address this
deficiency and ensure the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 provides proper
protection to all religions, including Islam.
This Act ought to be looked at. In Victoria, for
example, religious vilification is treated in similar terms to racism. The
Human Rights Commission's recent report finds that Muslims have "limited
protection" under the Racial Discrimination Act. This report has found that
Muslim Australians are facing persistent abuse and discrimination. That ought
to be addressed. Once again I congratulate the mover of the motion, the Hon.
John Ajaka, and the Government on this motion. I mourn all the innocent lives
lost and I condemn all responsible for the loss of innocent life. I commend the
motion to the house.
The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.
Opposition Whip
Parliament of New South Wales
Parliament House
Macquarie St, Sydney NSW
2000 Australia
