Maiden Speeches

by Brian McRea, Director of the Australia First Party (WA)

15 September, 2016

 

Pauline Hanson’s maiden speech in parliament certainly showed where she stands with both the Senate and also the Australian people — and will no doubt gain support from a great many Australians, whether they voted for her or not.

On the other hand, another maiden speech was delivered by another senator who I can only assume was Aboriginal and in a language unknown to anyone listening — with the result that nobody knew who she was or what she said or stood for.

We had an article in our local paper today (the Bunbury Mail) which showed how a local group are helping migrants to speak English in order to find meaningful employment. Most would agree that this is a great step forward towards assimilation.

While travelling in France some years ago I was approached by a black man from Sierra Leone who told me that he was learning English and that this was the only way to go forward in Europe, and the best way to learn was to speak with English speaking people. We conversed over a long train journey and I was impressed with his racially neutral attitude.

Why then in Australia are we not encouraging the use of the English language in all facets of Australian life? What can possibly be achieved by teaching Aboriginals a myriad of languages and dialects which nobody else can possibly understand, or is assimilation a furphy?