‘Burqa ban’ (face-covering) bill in NSW parliament
by Salt Shakers
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Last month, Rev Fred Nile of the Christian Democratic Party tried to introduce a private member’s bill into the NSW Legislative Council that would ban the wearing of face-coverings that conceal identity. This has become known as the ‘burqa bill’ as it would prohibit the wearing of the full face-covering burqa and niqab.
He couldn’t get permission to explain the Bill – the Council voted against allowing a debate.
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However, he has since been granted permission to introduce and explain the Bill. This explanation was supported by most of the MLCs – with the exception of the four Greens and family First MP Gordon Moyes (see article at bottom of report).
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His media release says that, in his speech on 22 June, “Amidst angry protests, Rev Nile gave a detailed speech addressing accusations of racism and religious discrimination, stating the bill had nothing to do with race or religion.”
Read Fred’s media release –
http://www.cdp.org.au/media-release/78-people-power-forces-introduction-of-burqa-bill.html
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In his speech, which is included in the media release, he said “The purpose of the Summary Offences Amendment (Full-face Coverings Prohibition Bill 2010) is relatively straightforward. It is based on the Belgium bill. This bill is to prohibit the concealing of a personal identity whilst in public without a reasonable excuse to do so. As I have already stated, nowhere does the bill mention “burqa” or “Muslim”. While this legislation has become known as the burqa bill, the scope of the bill is much broader than just that one item of clothing.” (more…)




















