![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/57683dfc46b6afdee3fa17b38dbbc151.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected Pauline Hanson\u2019s calls for a return to elements of the White Australia policy, saying modern Australia has been strengthened by migration and diversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister made the comments as the government released its response to a national report into Islamophobia, which includes new measures aimed at addressing anti-Muslim abuse and improving protections for Muslim Australians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese said Islamophobia had increased in Australia and warned against rhetoric that could damage social cohesion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIslamophobia has no place in Australia,\u201d Mr Albanese said\u00a0during Saturday’s press conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen a rise in Islamophobic attacks and abuse directed at Muslim Australians.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The comments came after Senator Hanson was criticised over remarks in which she claimed Australia had made a mistake by moving away from the White Australia policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The One Nation leader made the comments during recent podcast appearances, including an interview with British activist Tommy Robinson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Australian reported that Ms Hanson made separate comments\u00a0regarding\u00a0Islam being linked to terrorism during a podcast interview with right-wing comedian Isaac Butterfield in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She also accused some Muslims of pretending to befriend Australians and \u201cingratiate themselves into the country\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, it\u2019s (Islam) an\u00a0\u00adideology that is, you know, a lot of it\u2019s based on terrorism,\u201d Senator Hanson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese said the shift away from the White Australia policy was a bipartisan move that began before the Whitlam government and represented progress for the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen Senator Hanson’s comments that say that Australia has got it wrong when we moved away from the White Australia policy in 1973,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to recognise that the movement away from White Australia wasn’t just the Labor Government of Gough Whitlam, it was actually a bi-partisan position that began in the 1960s.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a good thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister said Australia\u2019s identity was built by people from\u00a0different backgrounds\u00a0who had chosen to make the country their home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cModern Australia is made up of, with the exception of First Nations people, people who’ve come from all over the world to make Australia their home, to have a better life,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese said Australians should be able to practise their faith safely while also sharing a commitment to the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s response follows a 54-recommendation report from Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik, which was delivered almost 10 months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The response includes measures focused on tackling Islamophobia in schools and universities, improving support for Muslim women, increasing safety funding for Muslim\u00a0institutions\u00a0and strengthening hate crime reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Malik said the government\u2019s response represented\u00a0an important step\u00a0but warned more work remained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The special envoy\u00a0added that\u00a0Muslim Australians should not have to wait indefinitely for stronger protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy report remains my independent advice to the government and the benchmark against which progress should be measured,\u201d\u00a0Mr Malik said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere the government has acted, I will support that progress. Where recommendations\u00a0remain\u00a0outstanding, I will continue to advocate for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Malik also addressed Ms Hanson\u2019s comments about Islam, saying words from political leaders could have consequences for communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The special envoy was asked about comments attributed to Senator Hanson that \u201ca lot of Islam\u201d was based on terrorism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a Muslim Australian, I will say a verse of the Qur’an that says, the true servants of the most compassionate of those that tread lightly and humbly on the earth, and when the ignorant jostle at them, they respond with peace,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u00a0while\u00a0One\u00a0Nation continues to wage a war against one million Australian Muslims and two billion Muslims, we would wage peace upon peace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke\u00a0warned against political movements that\u00a0sought\u00a0to redefine Australian identity through exclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said he never expected an elected politician would call for a return to \u201cWhite Australia\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought when I entered parliament that in my political lifetime anyone who had been elected to parliament would be calling for\u00a0White Australia,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Burke said Australians should be proud of a country built through diversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of saying you love Australia is to love Australia for who we are,” he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Not some perverted concept of a country where we would turn on each other, where Australians would basically lose capacity for kindness towards each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s response does not adopt every recommendation from Mr Malik\u2019s report, including calls for further reviews into areas such as counter-terror laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese said national security decisions would continue to be based on advice from agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe operate our terror laws on the basis of appropriate advice from national security agencies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will have different views they will put\u00a0forward\u00a0and\u00a0they’re\u00a0entitled to do so and of course everyone’s views is given consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“But primarily we sit in the National Security Committee of the\u00a0Government,\u00a0and we take advice from our security agencies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister said the goal of the response was to help Australians live together peacefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPrejudice is something that isn’t normal;\u00a0isn’t intrinsic to human endeavour, it’s something that is taught,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd political leaders have a responsibility to promote social cohesion in this country, and that’s what I want to see.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected Pauline Hanson\u2019s calls for a return to elements of the White 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