Secord vows to fight One Nation
Senior NSW Labor frontbencher and NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel deputy chair Walt Secord today vowed to be at the forefront of the fight against One Nation and its divisive policies.He also attacked the Liberal and National Party for “cozying up to an extreme-Right wing agenda” and said the party preference deal on One Nation was an “unprincipled shift by them should worry all Australians”.
Walt Secord
Mr Secord, who is also Shadow Minister for Health and Deputy Leader of the opposition in the NSW Legislative Council was speaking in response to the weekend (February 12) decision by WA Premier Colin Barnett to do a preference deal with One Nation in the March 11 State election.
Mr Secord also congratulated Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten for his “principled stand” – where he ruled out preferences to One Nation – in response to the WA announcement.
(In the 2001 election, the then-Liberal WA premier Richard Court insisted that One Nation be put last. The new preference deal for the coming election departs from that practice.)
Furthermore, this weekend on ABC TV, Federal Industry Turnbull Government Minister Senator Arthur Sinodinos’ defended the WA Liberal Party decision saying he believed that One Nation was “very different beast to what it was 20 years ago”.
Mr Secord predicted that once again One Nation, its policies and the Liberal and National Party preference deals would become the subject of a national debate – especially in NSW, WA and Queensland.
Media reports suggest that One Nation support was increasing at a worrying level in some parts of Australia and had the possibility of gaining a foothold in Queensland and WA.
Mr Secord said that migrant groups should be concerned about the policy shift on One Nation by the Liberal and National Party on the weekend (February 12).
Mr Shorten said he was staggered by the deal and pointed out that Federal Labor would not be doing preference deals with One Nation because “you’ve got to stand for something in politics.”
“Labor will not be giving its preferences to One Nation,” Mr Shorten said.
Mr Secord said he was “disgusted” by the Liberal Party shift on One Nation – which had been in place since Prime Minister John Howard.
“While I am very critical of many of John Howard’s policies especially his industrial relations agenda, I recognise his work on firearms, East Timor and in 2001, putting One Nation last,” Mr Secord said.
On July 6, 2016, Mr Secord also expressed his “deep disappointment” in what he perceived was then-NSW Premier Mike Baird’s “cozying up” to One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and her supporters, in the wake of the Federal election result.
At the time, Mr Secord condemned comments by One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson where she said parts of Australia such as the Sydney suburb of Hurstville was “swamped by Asians” .
However, Premier Mike Baird said that One Nation Pauline Hanson was entitled to her views.
At the time, Mr Baird told Sydney reporters: “She has a right to make the comments she does … I don’t have to agree with them, and I imagine most of them I won’t agree with.” (ABC Radio – Sydney. 3pm. July 5, 2016)
Labor has a consistent position on One Nation – stretching back to the 1999 NSW State election, where the party had decided that they would not direct preferences to One Nation.
Mr Secord said: “Our political leaders – regardless of whether they are Liberal, Labor, or National Party – should be repudiating the divisive views of One Nation – not climbing into bed with them. That is what the Liberals and National Parties are doing.”
“Sadly, the Liberals and Nationals are cozying up to an extreme-Right wing agenda and that should worry all Australians.”
My politics: Centre-right Liberal, anti-progressives, ant-globalist, definitely anti-shorten, di natlie, and anti-hanson-young. Pollies in Australia are out of touch with the mainstream and take a leaf out of the USA. Trump is doing what the mainstream want, and like in Australia pollies must realize that their priority is to work for the PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA, and not for interest groups within their parties or lobby groups. By the way, I hope that no pollie is taking money from that self-deluded george soros.
One nation is not extreme, and coming from you, I am rather disappointed. One Nation polices resonate with me, and I hope Cory Bernardi becomes a force in politics, as well as other minor parties who share some similar ideologies. On the positive side for you is the fact you are on the right side Godly affairs in supporting Israel.
Welcome to the real world Walt.
The mainstream parties, including your own, have been “having a lend” of the general population for decades. Now the ‘people’ have woken up. Unless the mainstsreamers do the same, and REAL quick, your worst fears will unfold before your eyes.
Try, if you can, to understand what is happening in this world of ours, NOT YOURS alone, and you will actively promote change in government,(I am talking about morality, selfish ambition, “snout in trough” stuff) which will take place with or without you. Trust me on this.
Look what is happening in our courts today to try to claw back some of the excesses of the corruption which ensnared some members of the last labour governmment in NSW. Enough is ENOUGH Walt. That is what you are observing.
I guess Mr Secord is not concerned about the Labour Party” cozying up” to the Greens with their support of BDS and their anti Israel policies! Shame on the Greens and Labour.
Of course an ALP MP would not like One Nation as the Liberals are putting them ahead of the ALP in some up coming state elections.
But where the ALP, or the Liberals, put One Nation on their HTV cards is mostly irrelevant as only these two major parties are left standing on election day after preferences of minor parties and independents are distributed.
What the two major parties want is as many second preference votes as possible from all the others to flow to their party no matter if they are from the Greens, One Nation, Rise Up Australia or Communist Party etc.