Australian Greens Anti-racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said the findings of the latest Mapping Social Cohesion report, which highlight a substantial increase in Australians’ concerns about racism, should drive government action. 60% of people now say racism is a big problem, up from 40% just last year.

Senator Faruqi said:

“People are more and more worried about rising racism in the community.

I am concerned about the recent attempts by the minister for education to incite a culture war over the draft national curriculum created by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, or ACARA, as they're known. I find his comments on the draft curriculum offensive, pathetic and ahistorical. They should be challenged by everyone who cares about the integrity of our education system.

Just yesterday I stood in this chamber in question time and asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether he or the Prime Minister would condemn far-Right extremism. What I got was the usual waffle, the usual sitting on the fence: 'Yes. Sure. We condemn all kinds of extremism.' That is absolute rubbish. That is bullshit. You are putting people's lives in danger. That's what you are doing. And do you know what? This is nothing new. On the weekend, we saw the far-Right extremists on the streets again. They have embedded themselves in antilockdown and antivaccination organising.

In March 2019 the Christchurch mosque attacks were carried out by an Australian far-Right extremist who murdered 51 innocent Muslims. Since that day, which so many of us had feared terribly after years of rising far-Right extremism, hatred and racism, this threat has only gotten worse. It constitutes an unimaginable and devastating risk to the safety of communities across this country. ASIO is now reporting that up to 50 per cent of its domestic counterterrorism case load relates to ideologically motivated violent extremism, which is off the back of a sharp rise in far-Right extremism.

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (14:20): My question is to Minister Birmingham, representing the Prime Minister. In March 2019, the Christchurch mosque attacks were carried out by an Australian far-Right extremist, killing 51 innocent Muslims. ASIO is now reporting that up to 50 per cent of its domestic counterterrorism case load relates to ideologically motivated violent extremism, which is off the back of a sharp rise in far-Right extremism.

I am enthusiastically supporting the inaugural Youth Voice in Parliament Week, and I have the privilege of reading one of the more than 600 speeches submitted to us by young people. So here goes:

I rise to speak to the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019. I associate myself with the remarks of my colleague Senator McKim, who has laid out in no uncertain terms how damaging and toxic this bill really is. This bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to specify that a person does not pass the character test under section 501 and may have their visa cancelled or visa application refused if they have been convicted of a designated offence.

I couldn't agree more that this is a matter of extreme urgency. It calls on the Morrison-Joyce government to take responsibility for the dangerous situation in western New South Wales. Why was this government sitting on its hands and sitting on data that clearly showed vaccination rates in First Nations communities in western New South Wales were desperately low? Why did you not do something sooner? Because you just don't care.

Like many Australians, I watched the Four Corners series 'Fox and the big lie' over the last two Mondays. While it wasn't surprising viewing for those of us who closely monitor far-Right media and politics, it certainly was highly disturbing. There is no doubt that the Murdoch media played a key role in growing and consolidating public support for Donald Trump and his far-Right administration.

I rise to speak on the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021—a bill this government has had to be dragged to finally bring to the table, though it still leaves much to be desired. Today we are marking Equal Pay Day and shamefully, staring at a gender pay gap of 14.2 per cent.