Liberal candidate links asylum seekers to traffic jams and hospital queues
September 3, 2013 – 11:01AM
James Robertson
Reporter
Fiona Scott suggested asylum seekers were making traffic worse and also exacerbating traffic queues. Photo: Screen grab, 4 Corners
A Liberal candidate in western Sydney has said she believes asylum seekers are contributing to outer-suburban traffic jams.
”[Asylum seekers are] a hot topic here because our traffic is overcrowded,” Fiona Scott, the Liberal candidate for the seat of Lindsay told the ABC’s Four Corners program.
Fiona Scott with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
When asked to explain her view she said: ”Go sit on the M4, people see 50,000 people come in by boat – that’s more than twice the population of [western Sydney suburb] Glenmore Park,” she said.
Ms Scott also suggested asylum seekers were exacerbating hospital waiting queues.
Ms Scott is challenging Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury in the September election. She came to prominence last month when Tony Abbott controversially described her as having ”sex appeal”.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul described Ms Scott’s comments as ”shockingly ignorant” and said there were only a few thousand refugees in the area.
On the issue of asylum seekers, Mr Rintoul said Ms Scott’s comments ”reflected the scaremongering and the xenophobic views of the Coalition”.
”She should be well informed, but she is saying absurd and ridiculous things.”
Mr Rintoul estimated that just a few thousand refugees, mostly from Afghanistan and Iran, would call suburbs in the seat of Lindsay, which includes Emu Plains and Castlereagh, as home.
”She has characterised [refugees] as creating social problems,” he says. ”Western Sydney is full of migrants who have very often experience some kind of discrimination and these negative views on asylum seekers will do no good to her campaign whatsoever.”
And of course some humour followed
you said it... 