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A senior member of the NSW Coalition government has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to "close our borders" to refugees from the Middle East in response to the terrorism attacks in Paris.
As the drama unfolded over the coordinated attacks, which have left more than 129 dead, Nationals MP Andrew Fraser took to Facebook to issue his call.
"Message to Malcolm Turnbull: Australia does not need Middle Eastern refugees or Islamic boat people!" wrote Mr Fraser, who is the member for Coffs Harbour and assistant speaker of the NSW Parliament.
"Close our borders we have enough anarchists already resident in Australia (our democracy) we do not need any more coming in disguised as refugees!!!!!!"
The terrorism group Islamic State, or ISIS, has since taken responsibility for the attacks.
Asked on Sunday about his comments Mr Fraser said: "I've had a gutful, I've had enough."
"Isn't it about time we said, hang on, our number one duty is to protect Australians, not to give a haven to people who want to kill people in the name of Islam?" he asked.
"I have no problems with people coming in from the Middle East to Australia. But I don't think the filter is good enough. I'm sorry."
Mr Fraser acknowledged his comments would be controversial but said he was simply representing a widely held view in his and other communities.
"I think we have the main political parties who are trying to woo Muslim votes and are too scared to come out and say what I think many Muslims are also saying, because they don't want to lose votes," he said.
Andrew Fraser's Facebook post.
Mr Fraser has an adult daughter living in Versailles who regularly travels into Paris. He and his wife visited the Charlie Hebdo memorial in Paris during a private holiday to France in July.
The makeshift memorial at the Place de la Republique sprung up in honour of the 17 people killed in a terrorism attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in January.
"It puts a lump in your throat," Mr Fraser said of the experience.
Mr Fraser's comments come as another senior government member, government whip in the Legislative Council, Liberal MLC Peter Phelps, responded to news that France had closed its borders in the wake of the attacks by tweeting: "Forty years too late".
@_HelenDale Forty years too late— Peter Phelps MLC (@PeterPhelpsMLC)
November 13, 2015
Dr Phelps said his tweet was in response to Helen Dale - an adviser to NSW Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm - and part of a long running discussion the pair has had about immigration and welfare.
Dr Phelps said Ms Dale was a "border libertarian" but his argument is that "you can't have open borders and a welfare state."
"If you're going to have essentially a Francophile welfare state designed to be a safety net for the existing population - certainly that was the case in France in the 1960s and 70s - what you can't have is a situation where open borders allow creation of a permanent underclass," he said.
"There's been a simmering tension in the outer suburbs of France, the immigrant suburbs, for years."
"I'm not seeking to justify the terrorist actions but people need to understand that if there were economic opportunities or even forced assimilation I think you'd have better integration and less disaffection with the community," Dr Phelps said.
Premier Mike Baird and Nationals leader and Deputy Premier Troy Grant have issued pleas for unity.
Our hearts break with yours, Paris. But our spirits will never be broken. Neither will our determination to stand together against these cowardly, evil acts of terror. We are with you.Posted by Mike Baird on Friday, November 13, 2015
What is unfolding across Paris is horrifying. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the French people, especially those...Posted by Troy Grant on Friday, November 13, 2015
