A LIBERAL politician who said migrants should be taught to use deodorant has come under fire from the federal MP for Greenway, Michelle Rowland.
Ms Rowland said comments by Brisbane MP Teresa Gambaro that migrants should be taught to use deodorant and to queue were insulting and that she should apologise.
Ms Gambaro said in an interview that new migrants on temporary work visas were not integrating into the community because they were not being taught about Australian health, hygiene and lifestyle.
"Without trying to be offensive, we are talking about hygiene and what is an acceptable norm in this country when you are working closely with other co-workers," she was quoted as saying.
Ms Rowland said she was proud to represent an electorate with a large number of migrants including Filipinos, Indians and
Tamils.
"[Ms Gambaro's] comments are insulting and insensitive to the many doctors, nurses, accountants and engineers who have come to Australia on a skilled migration visa," Ms Rowland said.
"Skilled migrants come to Australia to work in hospitals, care for our elderly, and fill gaps in regional and remote areas.
"The comments are unbecoming and irresponsible and Mr Abbott should come clean on whether he supports Ms Gambaro's views," she said.
The head of Australia's peak migrant body has said the statement had no place in modern Australia.
"Teresa Gambaro comes from the same background as mine and we grew up being called dirty wogs," Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils chairman Pino Migliorino said.
Mr Migliorino said the comments would make Australia "look like a joke" to the international community and damage efforts by employers to fill skills shortages by attracting overseas workers.
"This is no longer the 1960s; temporary migrants are people coming from a university background. To say 'you smell' is ridiculous," he said.
He said Ms Gambaro's statement also undermined the federal Coalition's policy stance on encouraging skilled migration.
"The Liberal opposition are on record as saying they want all of our migration to be skills-based. Australia is courting for temporary labour in a competitive international market," Mr Migliorino said.
"Those comments are so silly and ridiculous."
Ms Gambaro refused requests for an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald last week but issued a statement which said her comments had been taken out of context, were inappropriate and did not reflect Coalition policy.
"As someone who has come from a migrant family herself, I am proud of the contribution that generations of migrants have made to Australia and I would not want my reported comments, however inaccurate, to leave the impression that this contribution is not recognised," the statement said.
"People should be properly supported when they come to Australia as migrants.
"I regret any offence that may have been taken and unreservedly apologise."
Kirsty Needham is Fairfax's immigration correspondent.
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