Senator McKIERNAN(1.53 p.m.) —I want to make a short contribution to this debate as well. I feel it is somewhat obligatory for me to make some comment on it. As people would know in this place, I am a migrant myself to this wonderful country. It is very unfortunate that such a debate has to happen in Australia. One can blame the person or persons who started it but, certainly, one can point the finger at the Prime Minister (Mr Howard), for not stepping in early enough and stopping it.

Senator Bolkus, who spoke before me, mentioned an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today. Another previous speaker, Senator Forshaw, mentioned an article in the Australian Financial Review by Malcolm McGregor and the cartoon that appears in that newspaper. The Prime Minister, the leader of this nation, stands condemned today for not exercising his authority early enough to stop this debate getting the legs that it has got. As Malcolm McGregor says in the article in the Financial Review:

Howard's shameful performance has been dramatically highlighted by the public repudiation of Hanson by Liberals of the stature of Tony Staley, Malcolm Fraser and Fred Chaney.

But it has been more than that. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Tim Fischer) expressed his concerns on this matter some weeks ago. It appears that that has been ignored. Government backbenchers have been expressing their views, but the Prime Minister has chosen to hold his own counsel.

I have read—if one can believe Australian Associated Press—that the debate on the motion put forward by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, is going to happen in the other place just after question time today. As the news item gives me the information, there is now an agreed form of words that will be put to the other place, hopefully after question time today. It is something that should have happened quite some time ago. If it had happened some time ago, as I said, the newspaper editorials in all of the English-speaking newspapers in the region in which we live, the Asian region, would not have been coming out and condemning Australia for the very nasty debate that is happening in Australia now.

Senator Abetz —It's your fault!

Senator McKIERNAN —It's our fault?

Senator Abetz —It's your fault.

Senator McKIERNAN —Wash your mouth out! One only needs to look at the immigration bills that are currently before this parliament to see where the fault lies. The bills are not reflective of the current minister; the bills are reflective of what used to be known as the oval office when we were on that side of the chamber. I suggest that the backbench senator over there who is beating the drum ought to remember the earlier debate on this subject, the debate that happened in 1988, and who caused that debate. And who is the person that all the Australian media are pointing the finger at today? It isn't anybody on this side of the chamber!