Jacqui Lambie is about to be sent to one of the most dangerous war zones on earth – but she has no idea where she's going.
The former senator – who was forced to quit Parliament in November, after learning she held dual citizenship – is the latest high-profile Australian to join the cast of Go Back To Where You Came From Live. For security reasons, she is yet to be told of her destination.
“My mind is wide open,” says Lambie, who has previously called for a halt to Muslim immigration and a ban on burqas in public. She confirms she’ll take another tilt at the Senate in the next federal election.
“I’ve got to go in with an open mind, otherwise I’m wasting my time and everyone else’s. What I’m about to do will put me to the test. It could introduce some clarity that I may need, or [alert me to facts] I might have missed."
The SBS documentary series, now in its fourth season, screens live for the first time this year.
Comedian Meshel Laurie, former Big Brother host Gretel Killeen and ex-AFL player Pete “Spida” Everitt will be dispatched to different countries, immersing themselves in the global refugee crisis. Each will be paired with an “ordinary” Australian who holds opposing views.
When I can’t see someone’s face, I take two steps back and go, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’
- Jacqui Lambie
Lambie is teamed with Marina, a 28-year-old immigration lawyer who fled the Bosnian war with her mother and lived in a refugee camp as a child.
Together, they will conduct a “reverse refugee journey”, spending time with those who made it to our shores, then tracing a route back to their homelands.
“I just want to go and have a good look for myself,” Lambie says. “I want to see the other side of it – from their country – rather than sitting here in mine.”
It’s vital, she says, for all migrants to share “our values”.
“We can afford to prioritise who comes into our country,” she says.
“I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but it’s the truth … those white South African farmers [who have been attacked] should have been brought over here already. They’ve got our values and they’ve got the skills we need in farms and regional areas. That’s common sense.”
She insists her proposed “burqa ban” extends to all face coverings in public, including masks and handkerchiefs worn by left-wing protesters.
“I’m sorry but when I can’t see someone’s face, I take two steps back and go, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ That’s just human psychology.”
She’ll consider softening her opposition to Muslim immigration, she adds, if governments address the “isolation” these groups endure.
“Putting them in small pockets in the outer suburbs is not the answer. Literally nobody benefits from that.”
Lambie is willing to take heat for expressing such views publicly. What she can’t abide is the notion that merely debating Australia’s immigration and refugee policies is racist.
“It doesn’t matter where people are from or what colour their skin is,” she says. “If they’re not integrating, we have a problem. This is a massive issue; a big talking point in society.
“The only place they’re not talking about it is in that circus on the big hill in Canberra. A lot of Australians are frightened, they can see what’s going on – and no one is giving them any answers. All that does is push certain religions and groups of people apart. No one wins from that.”
Go Back To Where You Came From Live airs 8.30pm, October 2-4, on SBS.
