| Abstract | That Australia is better than most when it comes to racial issues has been shattered by the maiden speech in parliament by a former fish-and-chip shop owner turned independent Federal member of the Parliament (MP), Pauline Hanson. In Canberra, on 10 September 1996, Hanson who was elected as independent MP for the safe Labor seat of Oxley, Queensland - after the Liberal Party sacked her as its candidate because of her extreme racial views - called for Australia to end immigration, advocated sweeping changes to Aboriginal affairs, withdrawal from the United Nation (UN) and the introduction of national service for all sexes. She also implied that Australia faced a military threat from Japan, China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. |
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