Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Minister for Agriculture and Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) (09:55): Is it any wonder that, when the people of Australia turn on their TV and listen to the debate that goes on in this place, they are losing faith in the political system? They see a duly elected representative from the seat of Chisholm being harangued unfairly. Gladys Liu is a new coalition MP, a backbencher and a go-getter. She is a woman who is proud of her community and she's also proud of her heritage. She should be celebrated, not attacked. Over 1.2 million Australians come from Chinese heritage—over 5.6 per cent of our population—and they make a significant impact on our community and our economy. She's representing her electorate amid a media storm whipped up by those opposite, and it is a shame. We've all been in robust interviews. We all, with hindsight, could have used better words. And to come in here and suggest that Ms Liu has not been upfront and has not been engaging in clarifying those statements is simply incorrect. She has issued a statement clarifying her comments, and I quote, 'At all times I've complied with relevant state and federal disclosure laws.' Those opposite haranguing her here and in the other place is as childish as it is churlish. To suggest she's been silent is, again, incorrect. She said last week she was an active member in her local community, and she works closely with many groups, including many from the Australian-Chinese community. She has resigned from many organisations and is in the process of auditing any organisations that may have added her as a member without her knowledge or consent. That is appropriate, I believe. She has the full support of the government, and, again, for those opposite to suggest anything else is misrepresenting us in this place. She's proud of her values and, as Senator Cormann said, they are Liberal Party values. She will make a great contribution to the coalition in her role as the member for Chisholm. But she flagged that this may be an issue and that it was not the first time she'd experienced something like this in her experience with the Australian public. In her first speech, she said: I know some people will see everything I do through the lens of my birthplace, but I hope that they will see more than just the first Chinese woman elected to this place. I hope they will see me as a strong advocate for everyone in Chisholm. That is what Gladys Liu was elected to do. That is what she is doing, and she has the government's full support in representing her electorate. Those opposite like to say that people are dog-whistling on racism. The reality is they are the ones who are targeting Gladys because of her ethnicity, and they have form in this space. This is not the first time the ALP has pulled this card out of their poker hand. I will go to Tanya Plibersek and her attack on the Adani coalmine. Plibersek said that Australians could not rely on an Indian mining company to bring jobs to Central and North Queensland. I don't know what the Indian part had to do with it. Who could forget Michael Daley, the former leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, who said, 'The immigrants are taking the jobs and replacing fleeing young Sydneysiders running from immigrants in Sydney'? There was also Labor's racist campaign against the Chinese free trade agreement. We sat in here for days, listening to the Labor Party deride one of our great trading partners and the benefits that would flow from the Chinese free trade agreement for agricultural commodity groups, for our mining industry and for local jobs throughout our economy on the back of getting ChAFTA through. So you have form on calling out race whenever it suits you, and right now you've made a determination that criticising and haranguing Gladys Liu as the first Chinese-Australian elected to this place makes sense for you politically. Well, Gladys has the government's full support, and we look forward to the great contribution she's going to make in the other place on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, the nation. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Bernardi ): I remind honourable senators to refer to members in the other place by the appropriate titles.