Independent MP Zali Steggall says she has no regrets about telling Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to “stop being racist” in parliament.
Steggall made the remark during a heated debate in the House of Representatives last week after Dutton said Palestinians fleeing Gaza’s war zone ought to be banned from entering Australia on security grounds.
Dutton is now seeking legal advice over Steggall’s comments, after she also repeated them outside of parliament, Sky News reports.
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Steggall told ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning that Dutton’s legal threat was all “part of his playbook”.
“I would view that as true and tried, part of the playbook of Mr Dutton, of bullying and intimidating people from calling out his policy and behaviour,” she told ABC’s RN Breakfast.
“This is all designed to foster fear.”
Steggall said it was important to draw attention to such behaviour, and Dutton’s policies, which were also designed to instil fear.
“We see policies that are inherently racist and they’re designed to foster fear and hatred of a minority group, and the fear of the consequences of calling out means that the policy itself doesn’t get examined and called out, and that’s just bullying and intimidation.
“So no, I think it’s really important for the sake of our social cohesion, for Australia as a nation, to call this out.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined to say whether Dutton was a racist, but told ABC’s AM the opposition leader was “deeply divisive”.
“I think Peter Dutton is deeply divisive and well that creates a risk to the nation,” Albanese said.
“I was astounded that last week when we welcomed home our Olympians, a moment of national unity, Peter Dutton once again showed that there is no moment too big for him to show how small he is.
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“It’s always about politics. With Peter Dutton, everything’s about politics, and everything is about division.
“Peter Dutton knows full well that the same security agencies, indeed, the same personnel, in many cases, are looking after national security issues. If he doesn’t have confidence in them, he should say so.”
Responding to the fallout, shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham accused Steggall and the prime minister of “playing the man” instead of focussing on why Australia should ban people fleeing from Gaza.
“What we’re seeing from the prime minister and some of the teals, like Zali Steggall, who all promised some sort of kinder, gentler politics, is that they are really quite happy to play the man rather than the ball,” he said.
“They are happy to go on personal attacks against Peter Dutton rather than focus on the policy debate here.”
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