Labor MP Ed Husic.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Husic said he had been targeted by Liberal opponents who raised his Muslim faith against him during the 2004 election campaign and he did not see Mr Morrison,who was NSW Liberal Party director at the time,express any concerns at the tactics.
"I think there is a need for leadership in political and media circles to be exercised at the right point of time – not some time later when you’re trying to airbrush what’s gone on,but to deal with in the public space,"Mr Husic said.
"People should not be victims of terrorism or extremism regardless of what background or faith they are. We all have a responsibility to speak up and deal with it."
Mr Morrison’s speech comes at a time of incendiary debate over the responsibility of conservative politicians and some parts of the media,such as conservative commentators at Sky News,for fuelling racial hatreds,even if the same politicians and media outlets express sorrow at the killings in Christchurch.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott dismissed the problem of Islamophobia less than two years ago,while Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton was subject to strong criticism from the Muslim community for questioning the contribution of Lebanese Muslims to Australia.
Mr Morrison used his speech to announce $55 million in new funding to offer grants to mosques,churches,synagogues,Hindu temples and religious schools to protect against attacks.
The grants will range in size from $50,000 to $1.5 million and will be made available for safety measures such as closed-circuit television cameras,lighting,fencing,bollards,alarms,security systems and public address systems.
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"When I say I believe in religious freedom – and I am one of its staunchest defenders in Parliament – I know it starts with the right to worship and meet safely without fear,"Mr Morrison said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten also called for caution in public debate but focused his remarks on the media and,especially,the social media platforms that spread the live-streamed video of the first Christchurch attack.
"The traditional media – newspapers,radio stations,television – they have to exercise caution before they publish stories. Now with the new media,with the new social media platforms,we haven’t seen that same caution before something is published,"Mr Shorten said in Perth.
"And after the event,eventually,despicable,dangerous,vile,perverted things get taken down.
"That’s really shutting the gate after the horse has bolted."
Mr Morrison pointed to a growing extremism in some debate as people interacted only with those they agreed with and showed no respect to those with whom they disagreed.
"As debate becomes more fierce,the retreat to tribalism is increasingly taking over,and for some,extremism takes hold,"he said."This is true of the left and the right."