A foreign-born Muslim senator has joined a corporate media-driven pile-on against a Liberal candidate in Western Australia for indicating he was “proud to be White” and concerned about Islam and African crime.
Fatima Payman, whose eligibility to sit in the senate is under a cloud due to her dual-Afghanistan citizenship, accused Liberal candidate for Mandurah James Hall of racism on Wednesday, after Facebook posts he shared in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were dredged up in a hit piece by The West Australian.
The posts were not created by Mr Hall, who first expressed regret for sharing them before apologising to the party and eventually standing down, saying he did not want to distract from the Liberals’ campaign or have his family hurt by ongoing negative media coverage.
One post was a meme saying “‘I’m proud to be White’ I bet no one passes this on because they are scared of being called a racist”, another called for bans on the burqa, Halal and Sharia Law, while a third was about being fed up with African gangs, immigrants who refuse to assimilate and take advantage of the welfare system, soft sentences and media lies.
Ms Payman responded to the first article in The West Australian, which is owned by media giant Seven West Media and was once a conservative publication, with a post saying: “Racism has no place in Australian politics.
“The recent comments from WA Liberal candidate James Hall are divisive, abhorrent and harmful, attacking the very multiculturalism that strengthens our country.
“If this is the best calibre of candidates that the WA Liberals can put up, it explains a lot…”
But while many of Ms Payman’s far-left Facebook followers approved, some took exception to her post.
“Why is it okay to be proud to be Muslim but it’s wrong to be proud to be White?” asked one.
“I have no issue with a person being proud to be White,” said another.
“These are the days where it appears everyone has pride in themselves. Black pride, gay pride, so it naturally follows that someone will push the boundaries and claim White pride,” a third wrote.
Another called on the senator to address the questions around her dual-citizenship, an issue raised by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson after Ms Payman started her own party. She was accidentally elected as a Labor party candidate before quitting the party due to her pro-Palestinian activism.
“Senator Payman you need to take further action on your dual citizenship issues. In your bios you are still referred to as an Afghan-Australian which is not legal as a senator of the Australian government,” the comment read.
“Fix it before you continue this charade. You cannot be trusted or believed until you do. You say it’s hard to deal with Afghanistan and so work harder not just for you but for all others to come that will be in your situation. Prove that you are dedicated to the Australian cause.”
WA Premier Roger Cook had earlier called for the Liberal party to disendorse Mr Hall, saying “these sorts of ideas are repugnant” and accusing him of having “crazy extreme right wing views”.
Header image credit: Fatima Payman, left, James Hall, right (Facebook)
