Time for talk on halal certification

It’s time this country had a serious conversation.Everyone needs to set aside their pre-conceived ideas and let go of any religious or political convictions (either way) and actively seek out the truth about the quasi-religious tax known as halal certification.There is certainly enough evidence to suggest it is an extortion racket and it now looks like the links to terrorist-funding found overseas also applies in Australia.My good friend, Senator Cory Bernardi, has proposed a parliamentary inquiry and I support his proposal because such an inquiry can open the discussion and provide answers to serious questions.There are questions about why halal certified foods aren't explicitly labelled as such.There are questions about where the money goes that halal certifiers reap from their religious tax.There are questions about why halal certifiers are extorting so much money out of food producers and particularly abattoirs.And there are questions about the links halal certifiers have with dubious foreign connections.The public have a right to ask these questions without being denigrated as racists or bigots.And the representatives of the Australian people - the men and women who sit in parliament - have a duty to search for answers to these questions.Of particular note are public revelations from one Australian-based halal certifier that they donate to a group called the Al-Imdaad Foundation for "charity work" in Syria.The Al-Imdaad Foundation is riddled with links to Islamist terror groups and their sympathisers.(Information from the Gatestone Institute, which is headed by former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton.)Is this just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the halal certification racket?