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Far-right leader sparks walkout in Australian parliament with Muslims speech

She used her first speech to parliament as a Senator on Wednesday night to call for a ban on Muslim immigration, as well as a halt to all immigration.

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Australia is “in danger of being swamped by Muslims” resulting in its people “living under Sharia law” unless the country radically changes its immigration policy, a newly-elected Senator has said..

She first rose to infamy when she claimed in her first lower house speech that Australia was “in danger of being swamped by Asians”.

The Australian government’s first report on foreign ownership of rural land, released last week, revealed that the USA and Britain were the two countries owning most agricultural land in the country, with China at fifth place, behind the Netherlands and Singapore. Much of her maiden speech on Wednesday focused on Muslims, who represent about 2 percent of Australia’s population.

She called for a ban on Muslim immigration, the burqa and construction of new mosques or Islamic schools while insisting existing ones be monitored.

Hanson said changes were occurring in predominantly Muslim suburbs. “Our law courts are disrespected and prisons have become breeding grounds for Muslims to radicalise inmates”.

“Muslims are imprisoned at nearly three times the average rate. Muslims are prominent in organised crime, with associated violence and drug dealing”, she said.

“Anti-social behaviour is rampant, fuelled by hyper-masculine and misogynist culture”.

Muslim neighbourhoods were suffering from an escalation in crime and decline in social cohesion, she said. In July, shortly after propelling her party to score Senate seats on a platform overtly singling out Islam, she told reporters that Muslims will cause “terrorism on our streets.”

“Australians in general are more fearful”.

Senator Hanson finished to warm welcomes to the chamber from crossbenchers such as Derryn Hinch and some Coalition senators, but it was within the public gallery, where friends, family and supporters sat, where she found her most sympathetic audience. “How can he repudiate what she says, other than to say it is not wise to say what in many respects is either the truth or the sentiment of so many Australians, a lot of them too scared until now to say so?”

She pledged to work with senators no matter where they fell on the political divide – but only if they wanted to see Australia “prosper”.

Pauline Hanson is a former member of the centre-right Liberal Party who founded One Nation as an anti-establishment group to pursue her old party from the right.

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The story One Nation leader Pauline Hanson delivers incendiary maiden speech to Senate first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Greens walk out as Senator Pauline Hanson delivers her first speech in the Senate at Parliament House on Wednesday