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Below: France has gone much further than anything contemplated by Australia. French law now bans women from wearing full-face coverings in public. (This Russia Today report is from April, 2011) Below: An ABC Stateline segment in which a panel of Muslim women discuss Australians' attitude to banning the burqa. This clip was aired in July 2009, after journalist Virginia Haussegger commented on the subject after France brought in new laws. Below: On Fora TV, in August, 2009, Australian journalists Virginia Haussegger and Julie Posetti debate the ethics of banning the burqa. |
 Web links, documents |
On May 17, 2010, the ABC opinion sub-section of its Internet site, The Drum, published a comment written by Pru Goddard titled, 'Stand up for Australia: don't ban the burqa'. Pru Goddard argues why it is important that Australia respect this Muslim tradition.
The full text of this opinion piece can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/34488.html
On February 14, 2011, Right Now, an Australian human rights journal, published an opinion piece by Jacqui Pavey and titled, 'The burqa or the ban: which is worse'. Though critical of the burqa, Pavey argues that to place a ban on it being warn would worsen the situation of Muslim women.
The full text of the opinion piece can be found at http://rightnow.org.au/writing-cat/article/the-burqa-or-the-ban-which-is-worse/
On April 13, 2011, The Courier Mail published an opinion piece by Mirko Bagaric titled, 'Establish if wearing burqa a choice'. The article defends the right of Muslim women to wear a burqa from a civil liberties point of view. The full text of this article can be found at http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/establish-if-wearing-burqa-a-choice/story-e6freomx-1226038097835
On April 25, 2011, the editor of the Queensland Muslim Times, Bilal Rauf, published an opinion piece titled, 'Burqa, read all about it'. The piece argues that most of the justifications offered for banning or restricting the wearing of the burqa are inadequate. The full text of this comment can be found at http://qmt.org.au/burqa-read-all-about-it/
On June 22, 2011, Perth Now published an opinion piece by Tory Shepherd titled, 'A burqa, large lie, and behold the pickle'. The piece condemns the provocative behaviour of those Muslims whose actions helped to prompt the recent change of law in New South Wales. It also argues that the legislative change is an over-reaction.
The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.perthnow.com.au/a-burqa-large-lie-and-behold-the-pickle/comments-fn6mhct1-1226080010195
On July 3, 2011, The Sunday Telegraph published a report by Claire Harvey titled, 'Top cop's verdict on burqas'. The report details New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione's reasons for wanting a strengthening of police powers in relation to face coverings. The full text of the article can be found at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/police-commissioner-andrew-scipione-calls-for-new-powers-to-force-women-to-remove-their-veils/story-e6freuy9-1226086316409
On July 5, 2011, CNN Go published a news report by Matt Koury, titled 'The law speaks: Take off that burqa'. The article outlines the recent proposed changed to New South Wales law with regard to the removal of burqas. It gives a variety of reactions to these changes.
The full text of this article can be found at http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/life/law-speaks-take-burqa-333128
On July 5, 2011, The Courier Mail published a news report by James O'Loan titled, 'No burqa ban ... for the moment'. The report outlines the decision of the Queensland government and police that the state does not need to adjust its laws to deal with Muslim women who wear burqas. It also outlines why New South Wales authorities took a different position in that state.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/no-burqa-ban-for-the-moment/story-fn6ck51p-1226088227944
On July 5, 2011, The Punch published an online analysis by Anthony Sharwood titled, 'Australia is still a long way from France'. The piece gives an essentially favourable view of the New South Wales changed legislation presented by a prominent Muslim spokesperson.
The full text of this analysis can be found at http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-is-still-a-long-way-from-france/
On July 5, 2011, The Telegraph published a report by Kate Sikora, titled, 'Lift the veil, or go to jail - police get tough on burqas'. The report gives details of the new New South Wales legislation and outlines some of the justifications offered for it.
The full text of this article can be found at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/police-get-tough-on-burqas/story-e6freuy9-1226087503421
On July 6, 2011, the opinion section of the ABC's Internet site, The Drum, published a comment by Jeff Sparrow, titled, 'Burqa ban: in the name of good old-fashioned prejudice'. The piece argues that most of the justifications offered for banning the burqa or placing restrictions upon it are motivated by prejudice.
The full text of this piece can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2784376.html