Rita Panahi: Nothing funny about damage inflicted by Greens’ ideology
At every level of government the Greens can be relied upon to push dumb, destructive policies but for too long this malignant force in Aussie politics has been treated with kid gloves.
Rita Panahi
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rita Panahi. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The pathetic, petulant display from the Greens in the Australian parliament this week embarrassed the country, the parliamentary party and their constituents.
The antics are an indictment on the 11 senators and reflect poorly on their voter base; if you support that type of infantile, irrational, anti-Australian behaviour then you’ve been failed by the education system, the culture, your parents, or perhaps all of the above.
Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, draped in a black and white keffiyeh, a symbol that is synonymous with Palestinian nationalism, stood up in the Upper House on Monday and accused Israel of war crimes before raising her fist and shrieking “free, free Palestine”.
“The Coalition is morally bankrupt when it comes to Palestine and Labor has shown itself to be heartless, gutless, powerless. You are watching the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel and you are not condemning Israel,” Faruqi yelled.
“You are not condemning Israel. You refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire.
“Weasel words are not going to stop war crimes. Today, we bring the people’s protest into parliament. Free, free Palestine!”
Immediately following this tantrum, all the Greens senators stood up and walked out of the chamber in unison, with Victorian MP Janet Rice lifting a printed Palestinian flag above her head. It was an unedifying spectacle, an attention-seeking stunt that deserves to be mocked.
Whether at federal, state or local government level, the Greens can be relied upon to push dumb, destructive policies.
We may laugh when the Greens-leaning Yarra Council flies the “asexual flag” at council buildings but there is nothing funny about the damage this extreme Left ideology is inflicting upon the country.
And, for too long this malignant force in Australian politics has been treated with kid gloves.
Perhaps because they have zero hope of ever governing in their own right they are held to a much lower standard than Labor and the Coalition.
Or more likely the lack of censure has more to do with the fact that the Greens’ world view aligns very much with the bulk of the mainstream media.
After all, One Nation has little hope of forming government but is subjected to far heavier scrutiny and criticism than the Greens.
Join the conversation
Panahi: Wong’s appalling snub of Israel no surprise
Penny Wong’s failure to meet with Israeli representatives at the UN in September is what we’ve come to expect from a government that lacks moral clarity and sees the Muslim vote in key electorates as critical to its chances of re-election.
Read more
Panahi: Decision to appoint ill-informed Senator comes back to haunt Labor
Senator Fatima Payman’s betrayal of Iranian women damns not only her, but also the Labor Party which selected an ill-informed 27-year-old for the Australian senate because she wears a hijab and ticks various diversity boxes.
Read more