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Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he regrets that his government supported a "white supremacist" Senate motion.
The motion, which was moved by right-wing Senator Pauline Hanson, sought to recognize the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism" and acknowledge that it is "okay to be white."
One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson gestures before the Income Tax vote in the Senate Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, June 21, 2018.
Despite government senators voting in support of the motion, it was defeated by 31 votes to 28 after the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Greens Party opposed it.
Addressing the vote on Tuesday, Morrison said it was "regrettable" that the government had supported Hanson.
"I'm sure all Australians stand against racism in whatever form it takes," he said.
There were reports that the government senators supported the motion after being instructed to do so by Attorney-General Christian Porter, but Mathias Cormann, the minister for finance and leader of the government in the Senate, said the support was due to an "administrative process failure."
"Yesterday, as a result of an administrative process failure, the government senators in the Chamber ended up on advice voting in support of the motion. As leader of the government in the Senate, I take responsibility for that error," he told reporters on Tuesday.
People attend a protest organized by left-wing group Campaign Against Racism and Fascism to counter right-wing groups 'Make Victoria Safe Again' protest, Melbourne, Australia, September 17, 2017.
However, Porter took to social media following the vote on Monday night to boast that "actions in the Senate this afternoon confirm that the Government deplores racism of any kind."
Richard Di Natale, leader of the Greens, said that the "it's okay to be white" phrase "has got a long history in the white supremacist movement."
"It's not just okay to be white in Australia, it's actually the ticket to winning the lotto," he said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
