Today, the process of amending the Australian Citizenship Act begins.
This will see Australian citizenship stripped from dual nationals who engage in activities or provide support to terrorist organisations. Currently, the Act allows for such action where Australians enlist with a foreign army at war with Australia so this new step identifies the changing nature of conflicts confronting the West.
While sovereign nations will always engage in hostile activities, there are a range of international protocols and conventions that provide a framework for governance and resolution.
However, the global clash of cultures and creation of the Islamic Caliphate that groups like ISIS seek to promote through the use of medieval and barbaric means, is as far removed from civilised society as any group can be.
Their seventh century legal code has seen people thrown from buildings, stoned to death, burnt alive, drowned, blown up, beheaded and shot. They regard women as inferior to men and punish freedom of speech, religion and thought with death. That anyone is attracted to such a group indicates just how stupid people can be.
Regretfully, many Australians are drawn into this dangerous cult, choosing to put their allegiance to an anti-Western ideology ahead of their loyalty to our nation. Frankly, I don’t want these people to have anything to do with our country and welcome the changes the government has made to revoke their citizenship.
Importantly, the Bill protects the rule of law and has due regard for our constitutional responsibilities whilst working toward keeping our country safe.
That task would be made somewhat easier if the taxpayer-funded ABC didn’t give a platform to extremist supporters of this radical ideology. Regrettably, they did so again on Monday night’s Q & A program hosted by Tony Jones.
The fact that the show’s producers thought it a good idea to allow a convicted criminal with known extremist views to make statements like “the Liberals have just justified to many Australian Muslims in the community tonight to leave and go to Syria and join ISIL because of ministers like him” is reprehensible.
It has long been my view that the ABC is out of control and programs like Q & A push an agenda that is not in our national interest. Every week their panel is virtually unrepresentative of mainstream Australia while trying to promote radical ideas and a leftist agenda. This is in breach of their charter and the board and management of the ABC need to do something about it.
If they don’t or won’t, there is an even stronger case for the comprehensive structural reforms I outlined over eighteen months ago.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
