'It's a money-making racket... we're being hoodwinked': Pauline Hanson says halal food fees fund terrorism

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson went on the attack on Sunday saying that imposing halal certification on Australians was wrong, while defending the anti-Islam protests across the country.

Speaking on the Today show, Ms Hanson described halal certification as a 'profit, money-making racket' and that the public were being 'hoodwinked' over the issue. She also said that the protests on Saturday were about 'criticism, not racism'.

On Sunday morning's Today show she was asked for her views on businesses 'going to the wall' if halal certification of food products was scrapped.

'It's a profit, money-making racket and has been connected with the Muslim Brotherhood in France. Why can't we have an investigation into where the money actually goes?' she claimed.

When told by the interviewer that there was no basis to any of these claims Ms Hanson replied: 'Why do Australians have to pay tax for halal certification? It is a money making racket. Why do Australians have to pay extra when they buy this product?'

'It's extortion that has been put onto businesses that you must pay this money,' she said.

'A Muslim does not have to have halal certification, they can say a prayer over their food. Then it's OK.

Her comments came after protesters clashed with anti-racist activists in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday. Anti-racist activists burned an Australian flag in Melbourne while chanting: 'No right in genocide.'

This then ended in scuffles after protesters reacted angrily to the Australian flag being burned.

Ms Hanson, who narrowly lost her fight for a seat in the 2015 Queensland election, joined hundreds of protesters in King George Square in Brisbane on Saturday.

Many were draped in the Australian flag and carried signs denouncing sharia law and halal certification for Australian products.

She denied that there was any violence or vitriol at the rally. 

'There was no violence at the Brisbane rally whatsoever. Islam is not a race so therefore we're not talking about racism here whatsoever. Criticism is not racism. We have a right to have a say and have an opinion,' she said.

'We don't like Islam and we're in fear about what Islam can do to our country, our culture and our way of life.  Australians have a right to say this is not going to work. We want a peaceful cohesive society.'

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More churchmen pandering to homosexuals

It would be more persuasive if they also denounced homosexuality as an abomination to God  -- as the Bible teaches.  Homosexuals can be very aggressive and it is sometimes right to fear them

BRISBANE'S Anglican Archbishop has joined a local Catholic priest in calling for Queensland's controversial "gay panic" homicide defence to be scrapped.

SPEAKING after his Easter Sunday mass, Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall said he supported Father Paul Kelly in his calls for the Homosexual Advance Defence to be removed from Queensland common law.  The defence means a murder charge may be reduced to manslaughter if the defendant establishes their victim "came on" to them, and the killing was in self-defence.

"I think Father Paul Kelly is on the right track, well and truly," Dr Aspinall told AAP.  "I don't think it's reasonable to murder someone who approaches you sexually. Violence is never a constructive response."

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Politician detained at Darwin Airport after helping Kurdish fighters against IS in Syria  -- later released

HE vanished from Darwin to help Kurdish fighters against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria. Now politico Matthew Gardiner has been caught at Darwin airport. Mr Gardiner was stopped by Customs officials early on Sunday morning.

He has been released without charge after being intercepted by Australian Federal Police.

The 43-year-old was the NT Labor Party President and boss of United Voice Union when he left Darwin in January, according to NT News.

But he risks being charged with an offence if he is found to have fought alongside the Kurdish resistance. While Australia has transported shipments of firearms on RAAF planes to help the Kurds battle Islamic State, it remains illegal for Australians to fight in foreign conflicts.

The Lions of Rojava website, which is a recruitment tool for foreign fighters wishing to join the Kurds has previously claimed Mr Gardiner had joined the national army of Syrian Kurdistan known as the YPG.  It is not known what his mission was but given his military background he may have been working as a medic.

The website now prominently carries images of the Australian man killed in the conflict describing him as “hero’’ and urging other foreigners to join the People’s Protection Units in Syria, “send terrorists to hell and save humanity.’’

While authorities would not want to treat Mr Gardiner the same as returning foreign fighter for Islamic state, if he is found to have fought with the Kurds against IS has risked breaking Australian laws.

Around 90 Australians are believed to have travelled to the Middle East in recent years as foreign fighters.

In January, Labor leader Bill Shorten said the union leader had made “a mistake’’ however well intentioned he was in trying to fight Islamic State. “Whatever this guys motivations, he’s not going to solve anything by going over there,’’ Mr Shorten said.  “His family will be, I think, going through quite a bit of shock and confusion, so I don’t know what’s triggered this event but he needs to come home.’’

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Perth hospital to have Muslim prayer room but no Christian chapel

OUTRAGED church leaders are lobbying the State Government for a Christian chapel to be built at the new Perth Children’s Hospital, warning “we need to stand up for our beliefs”.

Six religious leaders, including former tennis great Margaret Court, have written to Health Minister Kim Hames, demanding he “reverse the decision” not to have a dedicated area for Christians to pray at the $1.2 billion hospital, which opens next year.

And Perth Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft has also written to Premier Colin Barnett about the need for a Christian chapel, likening a planned multi-faith centre to “an empty shell for people who are grasping for hope”.

Mrs Court, the senior pastor of the Victory Life Centre and the wife of former Liberal state president Barry Court, accused the State Government of “bowing” to the demands of minority groups by planning for a separate Muslim prayer area.

“It really saddened me when I found out. It’s not too late to change it,” she said. “We are a Judaeo Christian nation and I think we seem to always be bowing to minority groups and I think it’s very, very wrong.

“It’s very important that we do not lose our values or our standards and I think a lot of people, particularly in a children’s hospital... need somewhere to reach out to God.

“I think at all of our hospitals there need to be a Christian chapel or prayer room... if they want to have a prayer area for the Muslims that’s fine. But have one for the Christians.”

The latest WA report shows Christianity remains our most common religion (58 per cent), with other religions such as Buddhism (2.1 per cent), Islam (1.7 per cent) and Hinduism (0.9 per cent) on the rise.

A spokeswoman for the Child and Adolescent Health Service confirmed that there would be a dedicated Muslim prayer area within a “multi-faith centre” at the new hospital.

She said the same model operated at Princess Margaret Hospital, and a Christian chapel was located at nearby Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

“The multi-faith centre will incorporate a central worship area, featuring religious texts and/or iconology of significant faith traditions and a non-denominational book in which visitors can write their own prayers, surrounded by a private interview room, chaplaincy office and outdoor courtyard,” she said.

“There will also be also be a Muslim prayer area, separated from the central worship area by a fixed screen, and Islamic ablution facilities, within the PCH multi-faith centre.”

In their letter to the Government, church leaders said the multi-faith centre would “differ significantly to what is normally associated with a Christian chapel”.

“There will not be a cross or an open bible, paintings of other items that help create an atmosphere where people sense the presence of God and find comfort and strength,” they wrote.

Archbishop Herft said nurses and other medical staff from PMH had raised concerns with him that the new hospital would not have a dedicated Christian chapel.

He wrote to Mr Barnett in February but had not yet received a reply.  “I do believe there needs to a chapel with symbols of the Christian faith that patients, their families and staff can turn to in moments of suffering and pain,” he said.

Catholic Archbishop Timothy Costelloe said “to simply provide an empty room which has no real beauty, comfort or dignity to it, and no flexibility, would not respect the needs of people at what will often be difficult and lonely times for them in a hospital setting”.

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