❓ A parliamentary question regarding Premier Carpenter's comments linking skilled migrants, AWAs, and potential race riots, followed by the Premier's response defending his position and acknowledging migrant contributions.
AnsweredQoN 362Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RACE RIOTS - PREMIER’S COMMENTS ON AUSTRALIAN WORKPLACE AGREEMENTS
On behalf of the member for Hillarys I welcome the students from St Marks Anglican school who are in the public gallery today. In this house last Thursday the Premier linked the use of skilled migrants and Australian workplace agreements to the possibility of race riots in Western Australia akin to those that occurred in Cronulla. (1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
On behalf of the member for Hillarys I welcome the students from St Marks Anglican school who are in the public gallery today. In this house last Thursday the Premier linked the use of skilled migrants and Australian workplace agreements to the possibility of race riots in Western Australia akin to those that occurred in Cronulla. (1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
In this house last Thursday the Premier linked the use of skilled migrants and Australian workplace agreements to the possibility of race riots in Western Australia akin to those that occurred in Cronulla. (1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
In this house last Thursday the Premier linked the use of skilled migrants and Australian workplace agreements to the possibility of race riots in Western Australia akin to those that occurred in Cronulla. (1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(1) Is the Premier aware of the massive contributions made by migrants to the development of this state and this nation? (2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(2) Can the Premier please explain how he came to the conclusion that the use of skilled migrants to help ease the labour shortage and AWAs could lead to Cronulla-style race riots in Western Australia? (3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(3) Will the Premier concede that, once again, he has shown poor judgment and that his comments were inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
I thank the member for the question. (1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(1) Yes, I do acknowledge the great contribution that migrants obviously have made to the Western Australian economy, historically, contemporarily and in personal ways. (2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(2) Members opposite should not leap to the foolish conclusion that the member for Cottesloe sought to leap to, I think, not seriously, but through his interjection last week. With regard to the possibility of employers introducing into Western Australia large numbers of migrants on very low pay and conditions not commensurate with Australian working conditions, I was pointing out that therein lay the possibility of unleashing social problems in Western Australia that we should not countenance. I used the Cronulla example to indicate how easily these issues can come to the surface. We need cast our minds back to only 1996 when I was the candidate for the state seat of Willagee, and Pauline Hanson rose to her feet in the federal Parliament and made her maiden speech, which reverberated around Australia for years. It created an immense amount of social discord in this country. I think it did a lot of damage to Australia’s image overseas. Thankfully, to a large extent we have put that behind us. I want to make sure that it stays behind us and that we do not offer any opportunities for people who, from time to time, are keen to create those sorts of inflammatory circumstances in this country. Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr C.J. Barnett : You raised it Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, I did. We must manage this circumstance very carefully. That is the point I was making and I think it is quite a valid point. As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
As I said at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry lunch on Friday, no I do not anticipate race riots occurring in Western Australia. As the member for Bunbury may know, historically, in I think Kalgoorlie, there was such an occurrence in the 1930s. We do not want to see that sort of thing occur again. Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Muslim workers are in Katanning and Filipino people work in Narrikup. Those sorts of people are coming into this state all the time. Why don’t you acknowledge it? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do; I acknowledge it all the time, but I do not want to go beyond that. Anyone who researches the political debate in Australia must reach some awareness of the sorts of forces that can be unleashed in this country. We are not talking about decades ago; we are talking about a short time ago when people - on every other day of the week they seemed like average rational citizens - behaved in ways that I consider to be irrational and inflammatory, and I do not want to see that happen in this state. Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Ms S.E. Walker : Why should it happen? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : If the member for Nedlands cannot figure that out, she should examine the circumstances of the moment. (3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
(3) In relation to part (3) of the question, about my poor judgment, this is one of the member for Bunbury’s few forays into debate in the Parliament. Good on him. I have had this sort of question put to me about other issues. I leave those sorts of judgments to other people. They can make judgments about whether or not my judgment is good, bad or indifferent and whether I am being foolish or not.
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