Fed: Australia will remain English speaking in 50 years:Vanstone

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2006
Fed: Australia will remain English speaking in 50 years:Vanstone

CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP - Australia will remain a predominantly English speaking, multicultural
country, over the next 50 years, says Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone.

Senator Vanstone was responding to comments made by a Liberal Party colleague warning
an abortion pill could help Australia become a Muslim nation.

Backbencher Danna Vale yesterday backed an amendment for parliament to oversee the
health minister's power of approval over the controversial abortion-inducing pill RU486.

Mrs Vale said that Australia already was "aborting ourselves almost out of existence
by 100,000 abortions every year" and that the move to lift what was, in effect, a ban
on RU486 would accelerate this trend.

"I've actually read in The Daily Telegraph where a certain imam from the Lakemba mosque
actually said that Australia's going to be a Muslim nation in fifty years' time," Mrs
Vale told reporters.

"I didn't believe him at the time, but you know when you actually look at the birth
rates and when you look at the fact that we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence
by 100,000 abortions every year and that's on a guesstimate.

"You multiply that by fifty years - that's five million potential Australians we won't
have here."

But Senator Vanstone said today that on current immigration figures Australia would
retain the same racial and religious make up over the next 50 years.

"In the next 50 years Australia will remain what it is today, a predominantly English
speaking, multicultural and diverse country," she told reporters at Parliament House today.

"It's no surprise that most of our migrants come from New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

"That's a historical factor. People tend to go to countries to join family and friends
that are already there."

She said she had not had a one on one discussion with Mrs Vale over the issue because
she had a right to her opinion.

"No, it's a free country you can say what you want," she said.

But Senator Vanstone said she was surprised at that opinion because it was wrong.

"I was a bit surprised because I know that the proposition is incorrect for starters," she said.

She said her own decision to vote for the private members bill in the Senate was not
a personal attack on Health Minister Tony Abbott.

"I don't want to strip Mr Abbott of the power that he has at the moment to veto an
application for RU486 to be used, not Mr Abbott, I want the minister not to have those
powers.

"We've had the abortion debate in Australia, it's done ... ."

The Therapeutic Goods Administration should have power over access to RU486 because
it had the medical expertise, Senator Vanstone said.

"I believe this is a medical decision, it's a scientific decision and it belongs with
those people," she said.

AAP klw/sb/jm/bwl

KEYWORD: ABORTION VANSTONE LEAD

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