Number of electors at issue

An Australian Parliamentarian has charged a fellow MP with uttering falsehoods and casting a slur on Sri Lanka through a wrong and misleading depiction of the number of Tamil citizens in the latter’s electorate.

MP Don Randall, Liberal Party member for Canning challenged the figure of a 3000 strong Tamil community claimed by MP Michelle Rowland to be resident in her electorate of Greenway, describing it as an attempt to curry favour with elements still sympathetic to the LTTE.

He asserted that the number of Tamils in Greenway was only 75 and that Sinhalese far outstripped this figure in the electorate with 1034 citizens.

MP Randall told the Australian Parliament on July 4: “I wish to bring attention to a speech made in this House by the member for Greenway, Michelle Rowland. I have informed her that I intended to do so. In a speech on Monday June 20th, she made an inaccurate and opportunistic slur on the democratically elected government of Sri Lanka, possibly to curry favour with elements of the electorate who I suspect are still sympathetic to the defeated terrorist group, the LTTE. She said in her speech she had something like a 3,000 strong Tamil community.

She said: “I say ‘3,000 but as I have been told by Tamil community leader,s and I have no doubt as to this - this number, is, in fact, far higher in reality. The Tamil population in Greenway is one of the largest in the country.

“I refer the member to the most recent Bureau of Statistics figures from the last census. I point out to her that in fact the number of Tamils in her electorate is 75. Not only that, but the number of Sinhalese in her electorate in 1,034. The number might want to realize that not only does she have people of that group in her electorate but she has Ghanaians, Iranians and Kurds, who she may wish to talk about in the same vein because they need the same support.

I expect her, on 0.9 of a percent, to be more accurate in the future so the Sri Lankan members of the community can deal with her. Don Randall was included in the four member delegation of Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group that visited Sri Lanka from June 6-11, 2011 led by Senator Stephen Hutchins, Chair of the Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group. During the visit the delegation toured the Northern Province where they met with IDPs and got first-hand experience of the rehabilitation, resettlement and reconstruction activities launched by the Government for the welfare and well being of war affected people.

The delegation comprised of the following: Hon. Senator Stephen Hutchins, Chair of the Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group (Labour Party), Hon. Don Randall, Vice Chair of the Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group (Liberal Party), Hon. Senator Catryna Bilyk, Senator for Tasmania (Labour Party), Hon Dr (Mrs) Sharman Stone, Member for Murray (Victoria)-Liberal Party.