Australia’s standing in the Asian-Pacific region has been seriously undermined by the xenophobic outbursts against Asians and multi-culturalism in Australia unleashed by the highly provocative and racist speech of independent Queensland Member of Parliament, Pauline Hanson, on Sept. 10 and the silence and failure of the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard to swiftly and firmly dissociate his government from her speech.
The silence of John Howard is all the more disconcerting considering his past record on the same issue.
Australian church leaders are so concerned about the harm the xenophobic outbursts are causing to the country that they have urged John Howard to end the “ill-informed, provocative and deeply offensive” race debate engulfing the country, as Asian-Australians are being physically and verbally abused making them feel rejected in the country they have chosen as their home.
These xenophobic outbursts are also harming Australia’s relations with Asian nations and peoples, built up by past governments over the years - signifying that the Australian government is not sufficiently sensitive about its relationships with the Asian community of nations and its place in a multi-cultural world.
(29/10/96)