Australian lawmaker calls for ‘final solution’ to end Muslim immigration

An Australian lawmaker called for a “final solution” to end the immigration problem in his country on Tuesday, invoking an infamous Nazi euphemism for genocide, The New York Times reported. 

“We as a nation are entitled to insist that those who are allowed to come here predominately reflect the historic European-Christian composition of society and embrace our language, culture and values as a people,” Sen. Fraser Anning, a member of Katter’s Australian Party, said during a speech before Parliament.

Anning also proposed a national vote that would ban all Muslims from entering the country.

{mosads}“The final solution to the immigration problem, of course,” Anning said in the speech, “is a popular vote.” 

Anning’s remarks were met with criticism from leaders across the political spectrum in Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called his remarks a “shocking insult” to the millions of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust.

“The Islamist terrorists’ argument to other Muslims is: ‘Australia is not your country. They don’t want you. They hate you. You’re not ever going to be really Australian. Join the war on our side,’” Turnbull said in a statement obtained by the Times. “Those who try to demonize Muslims because of the crimes of a minority are only helping terrorists.”

Anne Aly, a member of the opposition Labor Party who was the country’s first Muslim woman to ever be elected to Parliament, tearfully addressed Anning’s speech in remarks she delivered before the country’s House of Representatives. 

“I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of having to stand up against hate, against vilification, time and time and time again,” Aly said.

Australia’s first female Muslim MP Anne Aly is moved to tears as both sides of politics join to condemn Fraser Anning’s maiden speech. https://t.co/hcUffs4yyj pic.twitter.com/zbjzDMP0i1

— SBS News (@SBSNews) August 15, 2018

Aly also called Anning a white supremacist in an interview with the Times after the speech.

“For somebody to use the privilege of Parliament, the privilege of this platform, to spew such hate is beyond comprehension,” Aly said. “It’s sad that things have got to get to a point where this white supremacist’s hate speech is said in our own Parliament.”

Anning later told Sky News Australia on Wednesday that he did not intend to invoke the Nazi euphemism for genocide during the speech. 

“The thought police have jumped on it,” he said. “They’ve taken it completely out of context.”

The Australian politician also doubled down on his call for a national vote that would ban all Muslims from entering the country in the interview.

“We don’t need to bring more people in this country who may cause us harm,” he said.