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MP raises terrorism and multiculturalism at public lecture

26 October 2005

Federal MP Mr Petro Georgiou last week told a Monash public lecture that an effective and appropriate response to terrorism was being threatened by a misguided attack on multiculturalism

The lecture was hosted at the Monash Law Chambers by Monash Law School's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.

Mr Georgiou (pictured), the federal Liberal member for Kooyong and a member of the Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Government backbench committee, said some commentators had claimed multiculturalism provided a breeding ground for home-grown terrorists because it permitted and encouraged the dissemination of ideas hostile to a liberal democracy.

"The environment they exploit to propagate these ideas was not created by multiculturalism but is inherent in the very nature of Western democracy, with its commitments to freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of religion," he said.

"One commentator has suggested the government should stop funding multicultural services. Would Australia really be safer if the government abolished SBS and stopped funding the teaching of languages other than English?

"Australian multiculturalism has positively contributed to Australian culture and to its values. Its overriding ethos of tolerance and harmony has reinforced the character of our democracy."

Mr Georgiou said any proposals for new counter-terrorism laws would have to be rigorously assessed in terms of their effectiveness and their impact on fundamental Australian values.

The Castan Centre was established to meet the need for, and interest in, the study of human rights law, globally, regionally and in Australia.

It seeks to bring together the work of national and international human rights scholars, practitioners and advocates from a wide range of disciplines in order to promote and protect human rights.