Fraser Anning maiden speech, calls for referendum on return to "White Australia" immigration policy
2,674 views · Published 19 August 2018 · 35:47 · Indexed 23 September 2026
Channel: Cassius · 2018 · News & Politics
See the comment section for extensive notes about this speech source: Australian senate website This speech (14th August) generated a lot of controversy in Australia. In response both houses of parliament passed a motion confirming that ethnicty or religion would play no part in immigration policy. The senators who shook his hand at the end were criticised, with many saying they did so simply as a standard courtesy after a maiden speech. "The final solution to the immigration problem" part received particular attention, although Anning later said he "didn't think about" the significance of the phrase when writing the speech, and that critics were taking it out of context. Anning joined the Senate in 2017 as a member of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, but later left and joined Bob Katter's Australian Party (KAP). One Nation and KAP are both small fringe parties, One Nation focuses on immigration and multiculturalism, KAP is usually more focused on protecting farmers' interests. Hanson condemned Anning's speech, comparing him to Göbbels, and saying that some of the speech was originally written by a One Nation staffer who was later sacked. Katter, who has Lebanese Christian ancestry and is something of a character, said he supported the speech "1000%" and that it was "solid gold". The "crimson thread of kinship" quote is by Sir Henry Parkes. Parkes wanted a united Australia but within the British Empire (at the time New South Wales, Queensland etc were all separate colonies) The full quote is "The crimson thread of kinship runs through us all. Even the native born Australians are Britons as much as those born in London or Newcastle. We all know the value of that British origin. We know that we represent a race for which the purpose of settling new countries has never had its equal on the face of the earth." The National Party are a rural conservative party, particularly strong in Queensland. Between 1968 and 1987 the National Party's Joh Bjelke-Petersen was premier (prime minister) of Queensland. This is called the "Joh era". Gough Whitlam (Labor) was prime minister from 1972-75 and removed the last remaining parts of the "White Australia" immigration policy. Ben Chifley, Sir Robert Menzies and John Curtin were all prime ministers in the 1940s. The 1915 incident Anning refers to was the Battle of Broken Hill. Two Muslims, probbaly from Afghanistan or modern-day Pakistan, and who had been working as camel-drivers in the outback, opened fire on civilians and were later killed in a shoot-out with police. On their bodies were found letters proclaiming loyalty to the Ottoman sultan, who had declared a jihad a few weeks beforehand (Australia and Turkey were at war as part of WW1 at the time.)
