Resort bans controversial Aussie MP from meeting

Resort bans controversial Aussie MP from meeting

PERTH, Australia (AFP): Controversial Australian politician Pauline Hanson has been banned from speaking at a fashionable resort here next month because of her views on Asian immigration, The West Australian reported yesterday.

Burswood Resort spokesman Bruce Brislin was quoted as saying that Hanson, an Independent MP from Queensland, would not be allowed to use the resort for a meeting on May 2.

The management was concerned that would upset corporate clients and visitors, Brislin said.

The Malaysian casino and hotel operator, Metroplex, has a 20 percent stake in Burswood, making it the biggest shareholder. Western Australian Independent MP Paul Filing has accused Burswood of censoring Hanson because it does not agree with her immigration views.

The decision was un-Australian and unacceptable, he said.

"They have done this because they are worried she might be an affront to their Asian clients," he said.

"They are more than happy to take money from the local citizens, but they will not allow people to voice their views." Brislin told the paper: "We have to take into consideration the impact that such a meeting would have on our visitors and corporate clients.

"The last thing we need is disruption to our business and as we are a business we have to take into consideration our corporate client base."

Hanson has been invited by supporters to talk to a series of gatherings in Western Australia early next month.

The meeting that was to have been held at the Burswood Resort will now take place at a different venue.

She has become one of Australia's highest profile politicians since last year when she outlined her controversial views on immigration and Aboriginal policy in her maiden speech in Parliament.