Source: Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Can I begin by saying that Islamophobia has no place in Australia. Every Australian deserves to be safe, respected and at home in our country. And what we have seen is a rise in Islamophobic attacks and abuse directed at Muslim Australians. Hate directed at one community, hurts us all. Because our diversity is one of Australia’s great strengths. And we won’t, as a nation, let hatred divide us. It’s clear that we need to do more. And our Special Envoy, I want to thank Aftab Malik for the work that he’s done setting out further steps that we can take. We’re already progressing recommendations while continuing work on the remaining ones. This is about practical action to keep communities safe and strengthen our social cohesion. And based on the Envoy’s four guiding principles – firstly, education and awareness; secondly, protection and support; thirdly, building social cohesion; and then fourthly, accountability and responsibility.
It builds on the work we’ve already done, including funding security at places of worship, strengthening hate crime laws and banning extremist hate groups. Governments have a responsibility to build a stronger Australia, but all of us can play a role in that as well. And every Australian has the right to be proud of who they are and what they believe. To be able to practice their faith, whatever it is, in peace and security and with respect. And certainly every Muslim Australian has the right to feel safe, valued and respected for the contribution that they make to our great nation, Australia.
I want to thank Aftab for the work that he has done and the ongoing work that he’ll continue to do as we go forward on these issues. I’ll ask Aftab to make some comments and then the Ministers and then they’re all happy to take a few questions.
< AFTAB MALIK, SPECIAL ENVOY TO COMBAT ISLAMOPHOBIA:
The Government’s response contains important commitments. I welcome these measures that include addressing Islamophobia in schools and universities, the recognition of the March 15 Christchurch terrorist attack, increased support for the safety of Muslim institutions and steps to improve the reporting of hate. I also acknowledge the critical support for Muslim women, especially in mental health, the establishment of an Australian Muslim Affairs Institute and grants to improve understanding of Muslim history. These measures matter. They are important. They demonstrate that the Government recognises Islamophobia as a real and serious problem that warrants a national response – but this is just the start of the journey.
To tackle Islamophobia at its roots, we must address the challenging questions. These include stronger and more consistent legal protections for Muslim Australians, further national examination of Islamophobia and action that addresses its social, institutional and structural causes. I understand that Government must balance competing priorities, work across portfolios and navigate complex legal and policy questions. But Muslim Australians should not be expected to bear the cost of that complexity indefinitely. They are entitled to the same safety, dignity and protection as every other Australian.
My report remains my independent advice to the Government and the benchmark against which progress should be measured. Where the Government has acted, I will support that progress. Where recommendations remain outstanding, I will continue to advocate for them. That the Prime Minister established this office is important. It remains the only one of its kind in the world.
A government response is important, what matters is the difference it makes in people’s lives. Today is not the conclusion of this process. It marks the beginning of the most important phase, translating commitments into meaningful action and continuing work in areas where agreement has not yet been reached. Lasting change requires the Government and Muslim communities to remain engaged, build trust, deepen understanding and work towards common ground.
I thank the Prime Minister, the Ministers and all those who have contributed to this process. While important work remains, I look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with the Government, Muslim communities and other stakeholders to advance the recommendations and help build a safer, more inclusive Australia for all. Thank you very much.
< ANNE ALY, MINISTER FOR MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS:
This response that we are presenting here today is more than just about policy, it’s a response about people. It’s a response that says that Islamophobia is not just a religious issue, it’s an Australian issue. It’s an issue that goes against Australian values – our values of fairness, our values of equality, our values of a fair go.
The 35 recommendations that we are responding to in this report go right across Government, particularly in places like educational institutions, universities and schools, but right across through to recognising the significant impact that Islamophobia has on Muslim women and on their mental health.
I’m really pleased that we were able to work very closely with Aftab and his office. And I do want to thank the Special Envoy and his office for the collaborative way in which he has worked with us and approached this to come up with a set of responses, 35 responses, that go to addressing some of the most significant manifestations of Islamophobia.
But the thing I’m most pleased about is that for the very first time, the very first time in the history of this country, we have a government that is willing to recognise that Islamophobia exists, that it is dangerously close to becoming normalised, and that it has traumatising, detrimental and long lasting effects on a significant number of Australians. I think that’s something that all Australians can recognise as a significant move in how this Government deals with and promotes the social cohesion for all Australians.
So, once again, just a huge thank you to Aftab and everybody involved in where we’ve come to this day. Thank you also to the Prime Minister for his championing of this process as well.
< TONY BURKE, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS:
One of the most important parts of today is the simple statement and concept by a Government of Australia that Islamophobia is real, it is debilitating and it is wrong. And with my particular responsibilities for social cohesion and my particular responsibilities for national security, we’ve heard many times both the Prime Minister and the heads of agencies say we need to turn the temperature down. When Australians start to turn on each other, every risk goes up. And effectively the risk to the Muslim community of Islamophobia is real as well. We’ve seen the stories that get reported, whether it’s the bomb threats against a school, whether it’s an Imam in Victoria dragged out of his car and beaten, whether it’s a threat made directly to worshippers at a mosque in Queensland. But we also have so many examples that we don’t necessarily see. The person having to change their name on a job application because they’re worried about how they’ll be viewed. A woman deciding whether or not she feels safe on public transport because she chooses to wear a hijab. These tiny decisions that happen are debilitating for the individuals involved. And so part of the statement today from the government is not simply aimed at the stories that make the news, but those that don’t, that affect whether or not someone feels safe, as safe to go about their daily lives as the rest of us do. And so as part of the response, there’s also work being done by the Australian Federal Police because Islamophobia continues to be chronically under reported and people wonder, will anyone do anything? Today’s statement makes clear the strength of the view of the Government that as with any other form of bigotry, Islamophobia remains unacceptable.
The final thing I should say, which touches on this, but touches on broader issues. I never thought when I entered Parliament that in my political lifetime, anyone who’d been elected to Parliament would be calling for white Australia. I thought we were in a country where everybody just accepted that we had moved on and we were better because we’d moved on. Part of saying you love Australia is to love Australia for who we are, not some perverted concept of a country where we would turn on each other, where Australians would basically lose capacity for kindness towards each other. We are a good country with a really simple covenant that the Prime Minister has spoken about so many times. You leave any hatreds at the door, but other than that, we want you for who you are and we build a country together. You’ll never find an orchestra that performs where every instrument’s the same, but with that diversity you get harmony and you get strength and you get opportunities in Australia, where we build a nation like no other. Those who hate Australia shouldn’t pretend they love Australia and we need to be honest and proud of the Nation that we are. Where people have come from all around the world and joined with the First Nations who’ve had a history here that dates back to the first sunrise and we build the best country in the world together.
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The test for Angus Taylor is will he rule out preference deals and arrangements with One Nation going forward? Will he stick with mainstream Australian politics? Because at the moment it’s very clear that there’s a lot of similarities and adoption of policies that are One Nation light. The sort of statements that were made in the Budget reply about permanent residents, for example, go to that.
My job is to promote unity in this country. And that is something that people of the Liberal Party, as well as the Labor Party have had a fine tradition of doing so going back to the changes that were made in Australian migration policy in the 1960s.
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So, Australians can continue to have confidence in the work that the Government has done to ensure that we have fuel security. I say again, we remain at level two. So, we ask Australians to just take what fuel you need. No more, but no less also. To go about your business. And I do want to say that the work that we’ve done with industry and our international partners to ensure that Australians are well placed in spite of the ongoing international turbulence has been extraordinary. We have had a view the whole way through, reflected in my National Address prior to Easter, that what we needed was a calm and practical approach. An orderly approach to securing fuel supplies in order for the Australian economy to continue to function, for Australian agriculture to be able to see plantings and then harvesting of agricultural produce for food to still be delivered to people’s shelves through our heavy vehicle industry as well. That is what we have done and it’s working.
And I note that around that time, prior to Easter, it was said by the Liberals and One Nation that the fuel supplies would need to be constrained, that we’d need to have restrictions – none of that was necessary. And they were critical of my engagement with our international partners as well, and said that that was a pointless exercise. Well, it was worthwhile. We are delivering and these results are very positive. We continue to closely monitor, of course, developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the implications for Australia’s fuel supply. And it is stating the obvious to say that we’re not through all of this conflict yet. So, we’ll continue to monitor these issues and to be responsible.
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To give Governments credit across the board, it was the Morrison Government was in office federally, here you had the Berejiklian Government, in different states – all of them promoted the need to get vaccinated on COVID.
I’ve seen all sorts of conspiracy theories, including Senator Roberts describing the United States as the world’s largest terrorist organisation, you know, our major ally. You have all sorts of conspiracy theories promoted. And bear this in mind for people who are toying with One Nation – that this is someone who’s not one of their random candidates. And we’ve seen election after election with people including here in New South Wales people being elected and then leaving One Nation very soon afterwards. We’ve seen people resign, including one of the Senators who was elected at the last federal election resigned within weeks of taking up office. This is a guy who’s been elected and re-elected and endorsed and re-endorsed multiple times by Pauline Hanson and One Nation. And his views are not worthy of being a Senator. But he’s elected. This is the risk that people take when they vote for people who are on the fringes of politics. In this case, someone who has had a long history of supporting conspiracies.
Thanks a lot.