“How Pathetic”: Watch Penny Wong Shred Fraser Anning Without Even Saying His Name
Anning just sat there and smirked.
Back in March, following the devastating Christchurch terror attacks, Fraser Anning made international news with a racist and discriminatory statement, singling out immigration as the cause for the violence.
At the time, Anning’s comments were decried by everyone from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to British talking head Piers Morgan. Now, with Parliament back in session, a motion to censure Anning has been passed.
The motion was accompanied by a series of speeches. Labor Senator Patrick Dodson dedicated a series of remarks directly to the victims of the terror attacks in a tearful and moving address that stressed the need for unity and peace.
“I say to the people of New Zealand,” Dodson said. “We are sorry for your loss. Stay strong.”
An emotional Labor Senator Pat Dodson speaks directly to the people of Christchurch, as he voices his support for the censure of Fraser Anning #auspol @abcnews pic.twitter.com/tfHlsnYeGR
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) April 3, 2019
Meanwhile, Labor’s Penny Wong, the Leader of The Opposition in the Senate, delivered a rousing rebuttal to Anning without ever once mentioning his name.
“Whilst a nation was grieving, a senator in this place made extraordinarily offensive and decisive statement,” Wong began.
"Shameful and pathetic." Listen to Penny Wong speaking on the successful motion to censure Fraser Anning. "There is a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech." pic.twitter.com/2qqJHTCbXl
— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) April 3, 2019
“He blamed the horrific act of … terror not on the extremist right-wing terrorist, but on the victims of his evil acts. This senator sought to further fan the flames of division. How pathetic. How shameful.
“A shameful and pathetic attempt by a bloke who’s never been elected to get attention, by exploiting diversity as a faultline for political advantage.”
Later, Wong redirected her criticism to those who sought to defend Anning’s comments as an example of free speech.
“There is a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech. The former is a feature of our democracy. The latter is an attack on our democracy.
“We can’t normalise this through the concept of better ideas. We have to be uncompromising in our rejection of racism.”
For his part, Anning sat there smirking, at one point appearing to roll his eyes.