STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator WHITTEN (Western Australia) (13:40): There is something rotten with the state of our judiciary. Over the weekend I was shocked by the media reports of the sentencing of a child rapist, Salah Sulauman Almuhama, a 29-year-old refugee from Iraq, who was on bail from other charges. He lured in a 14-year-old schoolgirl by offering to sell her a vape and then indecently assaulted her.

In a plea deal, rape charges were dropped, and he pled guilty to two charges of indecent treatment of a child under 16. What did he get sentenced with? A fully suspended 12-month sentence—no jail time.

The judge cited exceptional circumstances in reducing the sentence, including his risk of deportation. Let that sink in. This is completely backwards.

This is what you get with the cult of multiculturalism—two different sets of rules, concessions and lower standards based on your cultural background. Rather than enforcing our laws to protect our way of life, this judge has decided that the very fact that the man is at risk of being deported is a reason to spare him an appropriate sentence. Enough.

This is more reason to deport. Send him back. Australia welcomed him and his family, and all we asked in return was that he lived by our laws.

Even knowing the risk that he faced, he could not stop himself luring a teenage girl to assault her. It's despicable. What of the responsibility of these woke judges?

If this man reoffends, these judges should be held personally responsible. Our judiciary has been captured, and we are reaping the rewards of their soft-on-crime approach. I would see all noncitizens that commit violent crime in this country deported.

If you can't abide by our laws and the expectations of our culture, there is no place in Australia for you.