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Fake news! The Senator Fraser Anning saga

By Spencer Gear - posted Wednesday, 3 October 2018


Step 1: Senator Fraser Anning's 'final solution for immigration'

This article is not about whether I agree or disagree with the content of Senator Fraser Anning's maiden speech in the Australian Senate on 14 August 2018. That's for another time.

His speech can be read at: Full text: Senator Fraser Anning's maiden speech.

In my view, some news sources have fallen into the fake news' trap with making one phrase in Senator Anning's speech, the 'final solution for immigration', parallel to Hitler's 'final solution'.

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The Guardian Australia reported that Anning 'didn't even think about' the historical connotations. His speech was taken 'completely out of context' and his remarks had 'nothing to do with' the Nazi party's Final Solution. Anning said: 'The fact is all I said was the final solution to the immigration problem is a vote of the Australian people…. I don't regret anything ... I'm not going to apologise or regret anything I say'.

Step 2: The 'final solution' beat up

Senator Pauline Hanson admitted on Q&A 'she didn't know what the term 'final solution' meant when Anning used it in the Senate. Bob Katter MP was absolutely clear in his support for Anning: He told Q&A Anning had 'absolutely no idea' that the term, 'final solution' described the genocide of the Jewish people in Europe. Katter said his Party was pro-Jewish and described the speech as 'absolutely magnificent'.

Step 3: False information spread

This is only a taste of what the media and MPs have been reported as saying.

Hype by MPs and Senators

Concerning Anning's 'final solution' statement:

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Not all parliamentarians were against Anning's 'final solution for immigration' association with the Holocaust. Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm called the response a 'ridiculous overreaction' to a phrase that could have 'multiple meanings'.

Huffing and puffing by the mass media

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About the Author

Spencer Gear PhD (University of Pretoria, South Africa) is a retired counselling manager, independent researcher, retired minister of the The Christian & Missionary Alliance of Australia, and freelance writer living in Brisbane Qld, Australia.

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