1. Full text
2. Abstract/Details

Show highlighting

JOHN Howard has cautioned people not to get caught up in navel- gazing over the reasons behind Sydney’s race riots, saying everyone should settle down and enjoy Christmas.
The Prime Minister said the time for reflecting on the fundamental causes of the race troubles lay in the weeks ahead.
“It is very important in the wake of what has happened in the past few days to deal with the immediate challenge, that is to calm everyone down,” Mr Howard said yesterday.
“Let’s not wallow in self-pity, self-flagellation and self- criticism,” he said. “Have Christmas and celebrate the fact this is still the greatest country in the world in which to live. Let nobody tell us otherwise.”
Mr Howard said there were warning signs in the lead-up to the riots at Cronulla beach last Sunday that should not have been ignored, but they should be examined away from current events.
“Some of it is just incredibly bad behaviour fuelled by too much drink,” he said. “We know what a potent combination that can be in any society, in any set of circumstances.”
Mr Howard slammed the torching of churches in western Sydney in recent days, saying it was “particularly repugnant”. It was “utterly and unconditionally condemned, particularly at this time of year when people celebrate the birth of Christ”.
Mr Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said they supported new laws rushed through the NSW parliament yesterday giving police more powers to crack down on rioters.
Mr Beazley said he did not believe Australia was a racist country but “obviously there are some racist elements involved on both sides”.
He said neo-Nazi groups had been involved. “There are stirrers out there but they are a very small minority,” he said.
Uniting Church president Dean Drayton accused Mr Howard of abrogating his responsibility as a leader and ignoring “the state of our nation’s heart”.
“The Prime Minister has refused to accept that racism is an issue because, he says, he is optimistic about Australia,” Dr Drayton said. “By refusing to admit racism runs deep, the Prime Minister has eliminated himself and the Government from being part of the solution.
“I tear my hair out when our leaders do not acknowledge these tensions in the community.”
Speaking of attacks on churches, including the burning down of a Uniting Church hall, Dr Drayton said the mob violence was not necessarily targeted at the church.
“People have a go at any of society’s institutions and the church is a soft target,” he said. “I do not see it as an attack on a particular religion. This is much more a fear of the `other’.”
He said the work of the police should always be supported, but calling for law and order was not going to solve the problem in the long term.
“The only way is to get to know each other,” he said. “We have to help people to live with the neighbour who is different.”