ADJOURNMENT: Grayndler Electorate: Marrickville Council Elections

22 March 2004

Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler) (9.27 p.m.) —I wish to raise my concerns about the potential entry of extremists into the local government area of Marrickville, the area I live in and represent. On Saturday, March 27 there will be elections for council. In the south ward of Marrickville Council, Mr James Saleam, a notorious National Action figure who has been photographed as a member of the Nazi party and who was convicted of the attempted murder of ANC representative Eddie Funde by shooting up his flat in Ultimo, is actually standing for election. Also standing in the south ward are the One Nation people Richard Rae, who wrote the One Nation theme song Sunburnt Battler, and Jill Brown, who is No. 2 on his ticket. They have done preference deals with sitting councillor team Morris Hanna and Dimitrios Thanos. I call upon all people of goodwill who support multiculturalism, in what is a most multicultural electorate, not to have any arrangements and not to have any truck with openly fascist people such as James Saleam

or with One Nation members who do not have the courage to speak out on that basis. I call upon Morris Hanna not to engage in a preference deal with these candidates. In Marrickville we take great pride in our support for multiculturalism and our support for tolerance and diversity. There is no place on Marrickville Council for the likes of James Saleam.

The SPEAKER —Order! It being 9.30 p.m., the debate is interrupted.

House adjourned at 9.30 p.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES