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Australian leaders’ views on the burqa

Oct 02, 2014
Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Here’s what Australia’s leaders have to say on the issue of the burqa.

TONY ABBOTT, PRIME MINISTER

“I find it a fairly confronting form of attire and frankly I wish it weren’t worn.”

“We are a free country, we are a free society and it’s not the business of government to tell people what they should and shouldn’t wear.”

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

“We should be smart enough in this country to understand that if people have got religious practices, if they’ve got cultural habits, if they’ve got clothes that they wear – I think leadership involves not saying that that’s wrong, but rather just saying that’s the choices people make within that earlier framework.”

JULIE BISHOP, FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER

“People are free to wear what they like. Some may be offended by it, some may be confronted by it, but in Australia we have a choice.”

MALCOLM TURNBULL, COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER

“Those people who attack Muslims and Islam in Australia are doing precisely what ISIL wants.”

CLIVE PALMER, PALMER UNITED LEADER

“On the burqa … we don’t have a position as a policy. We believe all Australians are equal. There’s no bill to ban the burqa from Palmer United Party.”

JACQUIE LAMBIE, PALMER UNITED SENATOR

“I’m concerned about it because I cannot see who is under that clothing. I can’t see whether it’s a man or a woman. You have beautiful faces and it would be nice to be able to see them.”

MAHA ABDO, SYDNEY MUSLIM WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION

“There’s no question or conflict about identifying the face. It is a given that for identification purposes Muslim women – within reason – can just lift up their veil and show their ID.”

TIM WILSON, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER

“There is a legitimate basis for asking people to remove certain items of clothing for security purposes at check points. But after that, people have to be free to wear religious items in the public square.”

TONY BURKE, LABOR MP

“Of all the security issues that people want to talk about, it is bizarre that in the federal parliament we’re having a debate about clothing.”

CORY BERNARDI, LIBERAL SENATOR

“I’ve said the burqa is not right for Australia.”

“Parliament House should be open to the people, but we need to know the identity of the people who are coming in here.”

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