...Says, "Hello,my brothers."Race Becoming Australia's Biggest Political Problem
...Says, "Hello,my brothers."Thursday, October 24, 1996, SYDNEY, Australia (Reuter) - Australia'sprime minister defended his country as a tolerant society Thursday in agrowing storm over racism after politicians said mixed-race children were"mongrels" and assistance to disadvantaged Aborigines was "apartheid."
"I do not believe Australia is made up of a mob of bigots," PrimeMinister John Howard said in a radio interview dominated by the race issue.
But the heated debate on immigration and race now engulfing Australia hasgiven racism a platform.
A town mayor who wrote a letter remarking that children of inter-racialmarriages were "mongrels" has defended his comments in the nationalmedia, declaring "it's a free world."
"If you are a child of a mixed race...Asian-Caucasian or aboriginal-white,you are a mongrel and that's what happens when you cross dogs or whatever,"Port Lincoln Mayor Peter Davis said Wednesday. Davis supports a cut in Asianimmigration.
Nine out of the 10 members of the council in Port Lincoln, 435 miles eastof Adelaide, capital of South Australia state, quit after Davis refusedto resign.
In Western Australia state, a Liberal party candidate has said Australiais creating an "apartheid" state by giving disadvantaged Aboriginesspecial treatment.
Don Green said only people with a "black father" should be regardedas Aborigines and therefore entitled to assistance, while those Aboriginesliving in cities should not get help.
"We are setting up apartheid in Australia by creating two differentsystems," Green said on national radio Wednesday.
The race debate was sparked last month when politician Pauline Hanson madea parliamentary speech claiming the country was being swamped by Asiansand that Aborigines were gaining unfair preferential treatment.
Since then complaints of racism have surged, according to Australia's HumanRights Commission.
But Thursday, Howard said Australia was a tolerant society, which had welcomedwaves of migrants over the years.
"Australians are to be congratulated, not denigrated, for the extraordinarytolerance and decency (they) have demonstrated over the years to successivewaves of migration from different parts of the world," he said.
Australia introduced non-discriminatory immigration in the early 1970s afteryears of a "white Australia" policy and Howard said the governmentdid not intend to turn back.
Recent newspaper polls show more than seven out of 10 voters believe immigrationis too high, despite a government plan to cut it by 11 percent over thecurrent financial year.
But Howard rejected claims Australia was being overun by Asians, who makeup about a quarter of the 100,000 migrants each year.
Australians of Asian background made up only 4.8 percent of the 18 millionpopulation, he said, adding that the figure would rise to seven percentby the year 2030.
Angela Chan, chairwoman of the New South Wales state Ethnic CommunitiesCouncil, blamed the media for fueling racists. "Most Australians arenot racist in any shape or form," Chan said.
But Howard refused to condemn Hanson, defending the right of free speechand calling for a sensitive immigration debate.
Ethnic leaders criticized Howard for failing to show leadership by not condemningHanson and her comments.
"I think there needs to be an unequivocal, bi-partisan appeal for condemnationagainst racism and for multiculturalism and immigration and indigenous peoplein Australia," Chan said.
Copyright 1996 Reuters Limited.
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