Cory Bernardi's 'ignorant' tweet stirs PM to defend burqa wearers
|
Version 0 of 1. Tony Abbott has called for a focus on preventing crime not “fretting about what people wear” after one of his conservative backbenchers revived debate about the burqa. The South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, who has previously called for a ban of the burqa and called it “un-Australian”, took the opportunity to revisit the issue after anti-terrorism raids in New South Wales and Queensland on Thursday. Bernardi tweeted: “Note burqa wearers in some of the houses raided this morning? This shroud of oppression and flag of fundamentalism is not right in Aust.” Abbott distanced himself from the comments during a media conference that focused on the counter-terrorism operations. “This isn’t about people’s religion, it’s not about what people wear, it’s about potential terror attacks here in Australia and that’s what we’ve got to guard against,” the prime minister said. “We have got to guard against potential terror attacks here in Australia. We shouldn’t fret about people’s faith. We shouldn’t fret about what people wear. We should guard against crime. We should protect ourselves against potential terror and that’s exactly what our police and security forces have done today.” Australia’s terrorism alert level was increased from medium to high last week, amid concerns over the threat posed by Australians who return after fighting with Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria. The government is preparing to send Australian Super Hornet aircraft to Iraq to assist in air strikes against Isis, and special forces personnel to advise Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said he had “no time for senator Bernardi’s stupid comments” as Australia must not submit to “fear and intolerance”. “The last thing we need at a time like this are ignorant comments from government MPs that feed prejudice,” Shorten said. “We must jealously guard the harmony of our society – it’s what makes Australia so remarkable.” Earlier this week Shorten reaffirmed his support for “multiculturalism and tolerance and diversity”, saying Australian Muslims loved their country and deserved “to be treated with respect in these complex international times”. |