ATA-A Media Release
4 September 2014
NSW Politician’s racist post against Turks lead to divisive comments on Facebook
Last week Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance (“ATA-A”) engaged in its first ever “advocacy week” in Canberra. During the Advocacy Week, ATA-A has also held a “Friends of Turkey Reception” to where almost 20 MPs and Senators attended including the members of the Australia Turkey Inter Parliamentary Friendship Group. The hosts of the reception were the chair and the vice chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Mr Craig Laundy , Member for Reid and Mr Rob Mitchell, member for McEwen.
The New South Wales MLC Rev Fred Nile, otherwise known as the father of the divisive and racist “genocide motions” NSW Parliament has passed in 2013 attacked the host MPs by another bigoted Facebook post. The poorly photoshoped image titled “Armenian/Seyfo Genocide deniers should not be hosted by our politicians” shows Craig Laundy MP, Member for Reid and Rob Mitchell MP, Member for McEwen with a Turkish Flag background and the poster shows Fred Nile writing “Thinks he’s a historian, is just really a racist bigot”.
