Premier Colin Barnett says far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders “is not welcome” in WA and the Government will ban State-owned venues from hosting any of his speeches.
Mr Wilders, who espouses anti-Islamic sentiment, may start his speaking tour of Australia in Perth after Immigration Minister Chris Bowen granted him a visa.
Mr Barnett said he was concerned Mr Wilders could spark racial tension of the kind witnessed in Sydney a fortnight ago as part of worldwide demonstrations against an anti-Islamic video.
“Geert Wilders has a reputation for taking a very provocative, anti-Islamic position,” Mr Barnett said.
“Now, all of us value freedom of speech, but I think we do need to draw the line when someone could come over here and deliberately cause trouble and dissention in our community.
“The Government will not make Government facilities available. We will not be doing anything to assist in any way his visit because I just fear it will cause the sort of tension in this community that perhaps we’ve seen in Sydney recently with riots and demonstrations.
“Now I accept that he’s visiting Australia and he plans to visit Perth but he is not welcome here and we certainly not be allowing the use of Government buildings or auditoriums for him to promote his view of the world.”
Mr Barnett did not criticise Mr Bowen’s decision to grant the visa but Australian freedoms sometimes came with a "price". “Freedom of speech can have a price and I do not want to see someone in WA stirring up trouble between different sections of the community, simple as that,” he said.
