Pauline Hanson’s refusal to censure Fraser Anning is irresponsible, ugly politicking

Pauline Hanson should be condemned for not censuring Fraser Anning.

The major parties — Labor and the Coalition — have announced they will unite to censure Senator Fraser Anning when parliament resumes next month.

The motion will condemn him for heartless and offensive victim-blaming over the depraved Mosque shooting that killed 50 people at Friday prayers in Christchurch.

Anning’s statement in response to that atrocity condemned the killings but went on to say this:

“Whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence …

“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”

This is as blatant a case of victim blaming as you could get and understandably it has been denounced across the globe.

Anning came into the Senate under the banner of One Nation after Malcolm Roberts was forced out under the dual citizenship shambles. He offended most people by referring to a “final solution” in his maiden speech, fell out with One Nation and joined the Katter Australian Party before his extreme views proved too much for them.

Yet Pauline Hanson, who is the woman responsible for choosing Anning as a running mate and therefore getting him into parliament, has said today that she will not back the censure motion against him.

On breakfast television she said the Senate vote would achieve nothing. Deliberately or otherwise, she misses the point.

“What is a censure? It will not prove a damn thing!” — @PaulineHansonOZ says she’ll abstain from a vote to censure Fraser Anning. #auspol pic.twitter.com/Xz3wRsqNO9

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) March 17, 2019

The censure will be a powerful statement that our parliament repudiates this sort of victim-blaming and the bigotry it encourages. Sure, Anning would remain in parliament but a strong statement would be made.

Despite petitions and Greens rhetoric aimed at expelling him from parliament the real accountability will come in May at the election when voters will get to decide his future.

We are left to wonder why Hanson wouldn’t want to be part of a powerful statement against Anning’s victim blaming. Why wouldn’t she want to disassociate herself from the suggestion that Muslims were responsible for being slaughtered just because they dared to live in New Zealand?

There can only be one answer. Senator Hanson must be worried about losing votes to Senator Anning. She wants to appeal to the same intolerant extremists who might support Anning.

This is irresponsible and ugly politicking from Senator Hanson and One Nation.

Over the years she had started to become more moderate, more tolerant on issues of Muslim immigration and multi-culturalism. In a little-reported policy change, One Nation dropped its opposition to Muslim immigration and now proposes extreme vetting from majority Muslim nations with terrorism issues.

So today’s sidestepping of the Anning censure is an regressive move back to intolerance. Hanson ought to condemn Senator Anning’s statement in unambiguous terms.

One Nation is running in the NSW election this Saturday. Hanson and her team ought not underestimate the decency of the vast majority of Australians.

Anyone thinking about voting One Nation in the NSW election — putting former Labor leader Mark Latham into the Upper House under their banner — ought to think very carefully about the unwillingness of Pauline Hanson to join the censure against Fraser Anning.

Innocent people have been shot dead for no reason but sickening bigotry; children are among the dead. There is nothing difficult to work out here — there is no moral ambiguity.

If One Nation cannot stand against Fraser Anning’s offensive victim blaming, then we can only hope its days are numbered.