Penny Wong warns One Nation monoculture push risks Australia’s national security in Lowy Institute speech
In a bid to counter One Nation, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned a monoculture would make Australia less safe and more vulnerable globally.
Calls by right-wing parties for Australia to become a monoculture would risk national security and jeopardise the nation’s world standing, the foreign minister warns.
In a wide-ranging speech at the Lowy Institute on Friday, Penny Wong will argue the bids for Australia to ignore a multicultural society would cause irreparable damage.
She will argue going down the path of a monoculture would damage hard-fought diplomatic gains.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The call for a monoculture is a call for Australia to curtail our choices and cut off our connection, to look inwards, to have no friends to work with,” she will say in the speech.
“There is a lot of damage that can be done, because Australians would be turned against each other. Australia would be a more hostile place.
“At a time where external and internal forces are seeking to divide us, turning Australians against each other makes us more vulnerable.”
The comments criticise the policies of One Nation, whose leader Pauline Hanson urged for a monoculture in a speech to the National Press Club in June.
While One Nation or Senator Hanson are not singled out by name in the speech, Senator Wong will use the speech to point out criticisms of the approach taken by the minor party, which has surged in opinion polls.
“At a time where external and internal forces are seeking to divide us, turning Australians against each other makes us more vulnerable,” she will say.
“Division makes us easier to exploit, it doesn’t make us stronger.
“Turning Australians against each other is the opposite of patriotism. Our resilience starts with how we choose to live together.”
The foreign minister will say partnerships with neighbouring countries, particularly in the Pacific and Southeast Asia were valuable in a time of global disruption.
Relations with Asia helped to secure fuel supply during oil shortages, while alliances with the Pacific, such as the Ocean of Peace alliance with Fiji that was signed in July, will help provide stability.
“Denigrating our region and neglecting our partners is no way to secure Australia’s interests. Neither is encouraging some kind of retreat from the world and the institutions that go with it,” Senator Wong will say.
“I’ve always believed the ability of Australians to connect with people from every part of the world is a national asset.”
