George Brandis defends 'right to be a bigot' amid Government plan to amend Racial Discrimination Act

Updated

Attorney-General George Brandis has defended the Government's plan to amend a key part of the nation's racial discrimination laws, saying people have "a right to be bigots".

The Abbott Government has promised to amend the Racial Discrimination Act by repealing section 18C, which makes it unlawful for someone to publicly "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" a person or a group of people.

In 2011, conservative media figure Andrew Bolt was found to have broken the law over two articles he wrote in 2009 about light-skinned people who identify as Aboriginal.

A Federal Court judge found Bolt's articles would have offended a reasonable member of the Aboriginal community, that he had not written them in good faith and that there were factual errors.

At the time, Bolt said it was "a terrible day for free speech in this country".

Senator Brandis says he will "very soon" bring forward an amendment to the act "which will ensure that can never happen in Australia again".

People do have a right to be bigots. In a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive or insulting or bigoted. Attorney-General George Brandis

Asked about the plan by Labor's Senator Nova Peris, the first Indigenous woman in Parliament, Senator Brandis said section 18C "goes about the problem of dealing with racial vilification in the wrong way".

He said the Government is acting in the interests of free speech.

"People do have a right to be bigots you know," he told the Senate.

"In a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive or insulting or bigoted."

The Opposition is against any changes to Section 18C and says Senator Brandis has given a "green light to bigots".

"Senator Brandis has clearly revealed today he intends to give a green light to racist hate speech in Australia," his Labor counterpart Mark Dreyfus said in a statement.

But Senator Brandis said the law as it stands amounted to "political censorship".

"People like Mr Bolt should be free to express any opinion on a social or a cultural or a political question that they wish to express - just as Mr Bolt would respect your right to express your opinions on social or political or cultural issues," he told Senator Peris.

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says it is a dangerous position to take.

"What the Attorney-General said today gives the green light to racist hate speech in Australia," he said.

"And the Prime Minister in Question Time confirmed that the protections which have been in Australian law for almost 20 years are going to be repealed.

"We need to know what they're going to be replaced with."

Abbott says democracy depends on free speech

Barely 20 minutes after his statements in the Senate, Labor's deputy leader Tanya Plibersek asked the Prime Minister if he agreed with the Attorney-General that people had a "right to be bigots".

Tony Abbott did not repeat the phrase but said Australia's democracy and freedom depended on free speech.

"Of course this Government is determined to try to ensure that Australia remains a free and fair and tolerant society, where bigotry and racism has no place," Mr Abbott said.

"But we also want this country to be a nation where freedom of speech is enjoyed.

"And sometimes, Madam Speaker, free speech will be speech which upsets people, which offends people."

Last week, Liberal backbencher and Indigenous MP Ken Wyatt told the Coalition party room meeting he may cross the floor over the Government's amendments.

Section 18C became law in 1995 in response to recommendations from major inquiries including the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Its accompanying section 18D is seen by some as a protection for free speech, in that it allows comments or actions made in good faith and "fair comment" if it is an "expression of a genuine belief held by the person making the comment".

The Government is also reportedly considering changes to that part of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-parliament, discrimination, race-relations, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, australia

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