A senior West Australian Liberal MP has poured cold water on a push by his state colleagues to force Malcolm Turnbull to recommit to repealing section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act at the next election.



WA Liberal MP Ian Goodenough, who chaired the joint parliamentary committee that developed options to change the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) complaints handling procedures for 18C cases, says though it is an “ideological goal” of conservatives in the party, those pushing for urgent change should wait until the recommendations work their way through the system.

Members of his WA Liberal party will move a motion at the party’s state conference this weekend calling on the prime minister to formally recommit to overhauling section 18C of the RDA, because his government has not enunciated a clear policy position since the Senate blocked its bill in March.

The motion will say: “That the Liberal party of Australia (WA division) calls on the federal government to ensure that the repeal of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act is a commitment for the next federal election.”



Internal debate about the Racial Discrimination Act split the government earlier this year, and repeal of 18C remains emblematic for elements of the Liberal right.

The Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, who has been of the forefront of efforts in the federal parliamentary party to achieve changes to 18C, said it was Coalition policy to overhaul the section.

Paterson on Thursday said he was confident that if the government was dealing with “a more favourable Senate” then it would proceed with 18C changes.

But Goodenough said 18C repeal was not as urgent any more because “there have been a few developments” since March.

“Many of the process improvements recommended by the committee have been accepted and are in the process of being implemented,” he told Guardian Australia. “There is a new president of the AHRC in Professor Rosalind Croucher who will being a new leadership style to the organisation.

“It is hoped that these initiatives will address some of the anomalies in the system. Changing the wording of 18C remains a philosophical and ideological goal of many purists and conservatives in the party.

“From a practical point of view I would advocate monitoring how the newly implemented process improvements and new leadership works, before renewing efforts to amend 18C, as it is unlikely to secure sufficient Senate support. I believe that the government could state that its position will be to maintain the status quo until a future review is undertaken,” he said.

Victorian Liberal moderate Russell Broadbent went further.

Broadbent, who was on the committee examining the Racial Discrimination Act with Paterson and Goodenough, said there was no case for overhauling 18C.

“Australians are very happy with the boundaries that are currently in place,” Broadbent said. “The community is very concerned about hate speech and we see that in some of the debates that are happening at the moment.”

He said many voters would see 18C as a “safeguard against hate speech”.

Through the successive internal efforts to overhaul the Racial Discrimination Act, Liberal moderates have argued that any change should be kept at the level of procedures managed by the AHRC.

They argue legislative change will alienate key ethnic and religious communities and cause the government significant political pain in marginal seats in the major cities.

Labor’s spokesman on multicultural affairs, Tony Burke, condemned the new motion from the WA Liberals.

“Any change to section 18C is a weakening of laws against racist hate speech and sends a message of insecurity and division to multicultural Australia,” Burke said. “Labor will never support weakening the laws against hate speech.

“These attempts from the WA Liberals are further proof of the Liberal party being uncomfortable with modern multicultural Australia”.