Pauline Hansons Maiden Speech & Julie Andrews the Sound of Music

September 10th, 1996

The win by Pauline Hanson in Oxley
in March 1996, was the biggest swing (19%) against a sitting member
anywhere. Pauline Hanson obtained 48.61% of the primary vote, Labor's
Les Scott 39.36% and the Democrats David Pullen 6.08%. The maiden
speech was made during the second reading of the 1996-97 Appropriation
Bill number 1 at 5.15pm.

[from Hansard] 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 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 business woman running a fish and chip shop.
I won the seat of Oxley largely on a 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 fat cats,
bureaucrats and do-gooders. They screamed the loudest because they
stand to lose the most - their power ,money and position, all funded by
the ordinary taxpayers.

Hasluck'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. 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 the benefits available only to aboriginals and challenge
any one to tell me how aboriginals are disadvantaged when they can
obtain 3 and 5 % housing loans denied to non aboriginals.

"The
distinction I make is this: a social problem is one that concerns the
way people live together in one society: a racial problem is one that
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."

Hasluck'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 the benefits available only to
Aboriginals and challenge any one to tell me how Aboriginals are
disadvantaged when they can obtain 3 and 5 % 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 to pay for something which happened 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 as 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. 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 a position if I have a criminal record. Once again
we see two sets of rules.

If politicians continue to
promote separatism in Australia they should not continue to hold their
seats in 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 which provide a wealth of seafood, 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% and is even
higher in my electorate of Oxley. Statistics, by cooking the books, say
that Australia's unemployment is at 8.6% or just under one million
people. If we disregard that one hours work a week classifies a person
as employed, the the figure is really between 1.5 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 has
dropped over the past 10 years. In the 1960s our annual wges increased
at 3% and our unemployment averaged 2%. Today, not only is there no
wage increase we have gone backwards as unemployment is officially
8.6%. The real figure must be close to 12 or 13%.

I wish to
comment briefly on some legal and social problems encountered by many
of my constituents--problems not restricted to my electorate of Oxley.
I refer to the social and famliy 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 a 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. 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.

Qantas when it
sold 25% 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.
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 business assets especially when they are making money. I may only
be 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 let one of them handle my grocery shopping.

Immigration
and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to
address, but for 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% 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 who 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 Labour
leader. 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."

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. 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 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 for 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 that 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 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 establish the
foundation for a resurgence of national development and enterprise.
Such schemes would be the building of the Darwin to Alice Springs
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 believe 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 reduce
interest rates for business. How can we compete with Japan, Germany and
Singapore, which enjoy rates of 2%, 5.5% and 3.5% 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.

Time is running out. We have
only 10 to 15 years to turn things round. 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.

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. 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
country strong and independent. 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 to those Australians who have supported me. I salute them all.

The
speech was heard live on national radio. After it the Parliament House
switchboard was jammed with people trying to call Pauline to
congratulate her.