Last September I led a Legislative Council delegation to Australia. While we were in Canberra independent member of parliament from Queensland, Pauline Hanson, made her maiden speech in which she launched her racist crusade.
In her speech she warned Australia was in danger of being 'swamped by Asians'. I was stunned that her inflammatory remarks received wide support.
What was more disturbing was the Australian government's ominous silence. Prime Minister John Howard refused to condemn her, except to say she has the right to free speech.
In the 10 months which followed, the Hanson crusade has snowballed. She has formed the One Nation party and has vowed to field candidates for every seat in both houses of parliament at the next election.
I watched such developments with concern because they could be detrimental to Australia's relations with the Asia Pacific region. This is unfortunate because successive Australian governments had claimed they were committed to engagement in the region.
Since many Asians regard racial discrimination as repugnant and unacceptable, any sign of racism could undermine Australia's economic, political, social and cultural ties with its Asian neighbours.
Earlier this month, I was invited by the television programme 60 Minutes of Channel 9 in Australia to be a guest reporter for a programme on Ms Hanson's impact on Australian interests in Asia.