8 ms·

I thought he was just a proponent for "Small Australia" and by extension of that anti-immigration? Never really heard anything racist or xenophobic from him bu

I thought he was just a proponent for "Small Australia" and by extension of that anti-immigration? Never really heard anything racist or xenophobic from him but to be fair having paid that much attention.

skissane 5y ago
He chose to publicly ally himself with Pauline Hanson on the topic of immigration. Hanson has a long history of anti-immigration positions publicly justified in terms of racial/religious animus (in the 1990s targeting Asian people, more recently she has made Muslim people her primary target); when she starts trying to justify anti-immigration policies based on population growth concerns, most people (quite rightly) view that as a disingenuous fig-leaf for her real position, but Smith seems incapable of seeing that insincerity himself. I don't think he is personally motivated by racial/religious animus. I think he is genuinely concerned about the potential impacts of population growth on the environment, housing affordability, traffic congestion, quality of life, etc. However, I think he has a poor understanding of how other people are going to perceive his decision to publicly ally himself with a politician who has a clear record of that animus.
- seoulmetro 5y ago
  Being anti-immigration isn't the same as being anti-[race]. That's a weird thing to tie together.
  - skissane 5y ago
    I never said being anti-immigration is always about being anti-[race]. But, to quote Pauline Hanson's 1996 maiden speech to Parliament [0] (my emphasis): > Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. Some people's anti-immigration sentiments are not anti-[race], but Hanson's are. If it is a "weird thing to tie together", I am not the one doing the tying, Hanson did it herself. And virtually all Australians know her history, and know where she is coming from – no doubt Smith included – and Smith chose to publicly ally himself with her anti-immigration policy. If he'd expressed his anti-immigration position without choosing to publicly invoke her name, far fewer people would have accused him of racism and xenophobia. [0] https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pauline-hansons-1996-maiden-speech-to-parliament-full-transcript-20160915-grgjv3.html https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pauline-hansons-1996...
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - seoulmetro 5y ago
      I never said you did. But you are talking a lot about racism/xenophobia for something that has nothing to do with it. You are actually reading out parts of Pauline Hanson's transcript, not the person we're discussing? So you're going even further into irrelevance? Huh? Please don't flag this because you disagree with it...
    - seoulmetro 5y ago
      It's a shame you'll always be wrong. Flagging those that prove that you're wrong and display why will be your downfall. I guess you're too weak to discuss why you're wrong.
- nl 5y ago
  I think he was interviewed in the same documentary about immigration as Pauline Hanson. I could be wrong but I think that was as far as it went. I remember it making me pretty uncomfortable at the time but I don't think he actually supported her or One Nation.
  - skissane 5y ago
    He went a lot further than that. In December 2016, he publicly announced that while he was not joining (or funding) her party, he supported many of her policies, and had accepted an (unpaid) role as one of her political advisers. See this TV interview with him at the time: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/dick-smith-backs-pauline-hansons-plan-for-one-nation-state-election-blitz/news-story/3a6f5c4f24cb2d37e282e26b74a6f9c0 https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/dick-smith-back...
    - nl 5y ago
      To quote him: “I support her policy on Julian Assange. I support her immigration policy. She says that she’s going to have a policy to help general aviation. I’ll certainly support that,” Mr Smith told the Daily Telegraph. “I agree with her views on immigration numbers, that is about 70,000 a year, not 200,000. But I do not agree with her views on Muslim immigration.” I think this was a mistake on his part.

skissane 5y ago

He chose to publicly ally himself with Pauline Hanson on the topic of immigration. Hanson has a long history of anti-immigration positions publicly justified in terms of racial/religious animus (in the 1990s targeting Asian people, more recently she has made Muslim people her primary target); when she starts trying to justify anti-immigration policies based on population growth concerns, most people (quite rightly) view that as a disingenuous fig-leaf for her real position, but Smith seems incapable of seeing that insincerity himself. I don't think he is personally motivated by racial/religious animus. I think he is genuinely concerned about the potential impacts of population growth on the environment, housing affordability, traffic congestion, quality of life, etc. However, I think he has a poor understanding of how other people are going to perceive his decision to publicly ally himself with a politician who has a clear record of that animus.

seoulmetro 5y ago
Being anti-immigration isn't the same as being anti-[race]. That's a weird thing to tie together.
- skissane 5y ago
  I never said being anti-immigration is always about being anti-[race]. But, to quote Pauline Hanson's 1996 maiden speech to Parliament [0] (my emphasis): > Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. Some people's anti-immigration sentiments are not anti-[race], but Hanson's are. If it is a "weird thing to tie together", I am not the one doing the tying, Hanson did it herself. And virtually all Australians know her history, and know where she is coming from – no doubt Smith included – and Smith chose to publicly ally himself with her anti-immigration policy. If he'd expressed his anti-immigration position without choosing to publicly invoke her name, far fewer people would have accused him of racism and xenophobia. [0] https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pauline-hansons-1996-maiden-speech-to-parliament-full-transcript-20160915-grgjv3.html https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pauline-hansons-1996...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - seoulmetro 5y ago
    I never said you did. But you are talking a lot about racism/xenophobia for something that has nothing to do with it. You are actually reading out parts of Pauline Hanson's transcript, not the person we're discussing? So you're going even further into irrelevance? Huh? Please don't flag this because you disagree with it...
  - seoulmetro 5y ago
    It's a shame you'll always be wrong. Flagging those that prove that you're wrong and display why will be your downfall. I guess you're too weak to discuss why you're wrong.
nl 5y ago
I think he was interviewed in the same documentary about immigration as Pauline Hanson. I could be wrong but I think that was as far as it went. I remember it making me pretty uncomfortable at the time but I don't think he actually supported her or One Nation.
- skissane 5y ago
  He went a lot further than that. In December 2016, he publicly announced that while he was not joining (or funding) her party, he supported many of her policies, and had accepted an (unpaid) role as one of her political advisers. See this TV interview with him at the time: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/dick-smith-backs-pauline-hansons-plan-for-one-nation-state-election-blitz/news-story/3a6f5c4f24cb2d37e282e26b74a6f9c0 https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/dick-smith-back...
  - nl 5y ago
    To quote him: “I support her policy on Julian Assange. I support her immigration policy. She says that she’s going to have a policy to help general aviation. I’ll certainly support that,” Mr Smith told the Daily Telegraph. “I agree with her views on immigration numbers, that is about 70,000 a year, not 200,000. But I do not agree with her views on Muslim immigration.” I think this was a mistake on his part.