'Anti-White' Racism: Australia Senators Blame 'Error' for Vote
The Australian government has said that an "administrative error" prompted 23 of its senators to vote for a motion which stated, "it is OK to be
white". The motion by Pauline Hanson, leader of the anti-Islam One Nation party, also condemned "anti-white racism". It was defeated 31-28 in a vote on Monday. Critics noted that the phrase "it's OK to be white" has been associated with trolls and white supremacist groups.
PM Scott Morrison said the level of government support was "regrettable". Responding to a backlash on Tuesday, the government said its senators had misunderstood the motion due to an internal "process failure". A senior minister, Christian Porter, blamed an "early email" sent by his staff without his knowledge. It had told senators to support the motion.
"The associations of the language were not picked up. Had it been raised directly with me those issues would have been identified," he said in a statement. Among those to support it was Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Deputy National leader Bridget McKenzie. Political opponents dismissed the motion as another stunt by Ms Hanson, who last year hit the headlines for wearing a burka.
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