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Statement by Mark Latham Concerning Emma Eros, One Nation Candidate for Hornsby:

I’m very proud that Emma is running for our party. She has more courage in her little finger than the Lunar-Right nutters attacking her, who deal in crazy conspiracy theories about Islam and weaken the chances of ever reforming this religion for the better.

Over the past 24 hours, many lies have been told about Emma. In truth, she is a very conservative person, a moderate Muslim who despises the Burqa, radical hate-preachers, Islamic welfare dependency (in places like Lakemba) and the notion of a separate Sharia Law in Australia.

Not only has Emma abided by the rule of law in our country, she has worked very hard to make a success of her life. She is a licensed plumber, a businesswoman, an entrepreneur and a very good mother and wife. She works hard every day for herself and her family, rather than sitting on Facebook peddling hatred and fake rumours.

It’s easy for the Lunar-Right to occupy their keyboards attacking people like Emma Eros. They don’t cop the ire and threats of radical Islamists. Emma does.

She has stood up and taken on the radical elements of her faith to argue for change, for Aussie values, for the sensible reform of Islam. It’s one of the gutsiest things I’ve ever seen in public life.

If we don’t support moderate Muslims like Emma, the public space is handed over to the radicals. The Left, for instance, has female Muslim MPs like Anne Aly and Mehreen Faruqi in parliament. Do you ever hear them calling for a Burqa Ban, to end the sexism and anti-social nature of that terrible garment? Never.

Unless conservative Muslim voices are heard, unless they run for parliament, we are handing over the debate to Left-wing dominance. And Islam will never change for the better. Is that what we really want for Australia?

As a candidate, Emma is confirming that everything One Nation has said about Islam (such as on the Burqa, ethnic enclaves and terrorism etc) has been accurate. If I say these things as NSW Leader, the Left dismiss me as a white guy picking on Muslims. When Emma says it, it has credibility and power in the political debate – priceless for a party like ours.

The Lunar-Right nutters on Facebook have a wild conspiracy theory about Islam: that all Muslims, especially the moderate ones, are trying to trick us. When the Caliphate is called, someone like Emma Eros will cut my throat.

How crazy can these people be? Have they ever met a Muslim? Have they ever studied the diversity of the religion, whereby its different sects and factions fight each other to death (as in Iraq)?

I know from my time in Western Sydney how diverse the Islamic community can be. From the hardline mob in Lakemba through to moderates in South-West Sydney, like the Indian-Fijian community. The Indian-Fijian Muslims were basically tossed out of Fiji for working too hard. They came here to set up businesses, to study hard at school, to embrace the Australian way of life.

I’m proud to count some of them as family friends. The idea they will answer the Caliphate and cut my throat is as crazy as Moon Landing and 9/11 conspiracies and other BS on social media.

Australia is a wonderful country, a land of tolerance and opportunity. But some racists remain, unfortunately – a very small element. When they call public meetings, the mainstream media turn up, but only a dozen other people. They have NO mainstream public political support.

Their only role is to attack good people like Emma Eros and spread lies about her solely because of her religion. Emma is part of the solution for our country. The Lunar-Right idiots remain part of the problem, as damaging in their impact as the Left-wing extremists at the other end of the spectrum. They both seek to divide and fracture Australia, instead of bringing people together with commonsense solutions.

I joined and ran for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a mainstream party that’s pro-merit and anti-discrimination. Emma is our candidate in Hornsby on merit.

Unlike Aly/Faruqi and the social media critics who have emerged overnight, Emma has a lot to offer.

Please give her a fair go.

Mark Latham