Wong uses Anning censure to wedge Liberals

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong launched a blistering attack on the Coalition over race and hate speech during a censure motion.

One Nation described the censure motion against Fraser Anning in the Senate yesterday as ‘the equivalent of a public flogging’. Picture: Kym Smith

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong has launched a blistering attack on the Coalition over race and “hate speech” on the back of a bipartisan censure of far-right senator Fraser Anning, but refused to support suspending the independent, anti-Muslim senator.

Senator Anning, who received confirmation yesterday that his Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party had been registered by the Australian Electoral Commission, was censured by both the Coalition and Labor for his anti-Muslim comments after the Christchurch terror attacks.

A later attempt by the Greens to suspend him for a day was blocked by the major parties.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Senator Wong brought the censure motion to the upper house, but the Labor Senate leader then attacked the Liberals over their alleged lack of action on hate speech, and preference arrangements with parties like One Nation.

“There are times in our history where bipartisanship has enabled us to confront racism and hatred: the White Australia policy abolished, the Racial Discrimination Act, the confrontation of One Natio­n and its previous incarn­ations, the acceptance of Indo­chinese refugees despite commu­n­­ity concerns: this was bipartis­anship,” Senator Wong said.

“It is a great sadness and I say this not as a partisan point, but as an Asian-Australian, it is a great sadness to me to see the way in which some on that side do not honour that history.

“It is a great sadness in me to see the way in which some on that side have failed to repudiate the ideology and hate speech that we have seen in recent times.”

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong during a censure motion against Fraser Anning at Parliament House yesterday. Picture: AAP

While Senator Wong said she was not speaking in a “partisan way”, her decision to use a bipart­isan moment to attack the Coali­t­ion appeared to be an attempt to wedge the government on race, following weeks of debate about its One Nation preferences.

Liberal senator Eric Abetz said he was disappointed the “bipart­isan opportunity was abused to inappropriately attack Liberals”.

Scott Morrison last week endorsed putting One Nation below Labor on Liberal how-to-vote cards after revelations it had allege­dly sought $20 million in donations from the US gun lobby.

The debate over censuring Senator Anning was frequently heated, with Labor senator Pat Dodson tearing up and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young yelling at the far-right senator to stop smiling while he was being condemned.

The AEC’s decision to register his party means Senator Anning will not run as an independent at the election and “Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party” will appear on ballot papers. Senator Anning plans to run Senate candidat­es in most states, as well as in a range of lower-house seats.

He said the Prime Minister was leading a far-left “attack on free speech” by censuring him for his anti-Muslim comments.

“The idea that anyone with right-wing views might somehow be likely to undertake a similar attack to the deranged psychopath in New Zealand is just absurd. It’s sinister and Orwellian,” he said.

Senator Anning’s former leader Pauline Hanson was not in the chamber, as she had her appendix removed yesterday. She had a statement read out condemning the censure, despite the party’s decision to abstain from the vote.

“I’d like to welcome the Australia­n people to the equivalent of a public flogging of an elected­ member in the Senate,” One Nation senator Peter Georgiou said on her behalf.