Christian philosopher Cornel West has hit out at Donald Trump in a Q&A panel that focused on freedom of speech and the "right to offend", labelling the US President a "gangster".

The panel, which also included Liberal senator Eric Abetz, WA Labor MP Anne Aly, free speech advocate Lindsay Shepherd and "people's panellist" Jeremy Bell, was asked whether Australia was in danger of being "infected" after Mr Trump was described as a symptom rather than the cause of the current situation in the US.

Dr West said America was experiencing a decline and that wealth inequality was increasing, and warned the US President was a "gangster" who came out of a rich but negative tradition of using his insecurity to put others down.

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"When he grabs a woman's private parts or makes jokes about it, [or] he's going to get oil in another country, that's gangster.

"Calling Mexicans rapists. Dishonouring and demonising precious Muslims. That's gangster," Dr West said.

"[But] Donald Trump is bringing out the best of America. He's seeing folks straighten their backs up. Courageous folks stepping out. Wrestling with predatory capitalism.

"Each human being is made in the image and likeness of God. How do you keep track with their sanctity and dignity?

"[By] spreading that loving kindness to the vulnerable, the weak, the fatherless, the motherless, those who are catching hell … It's the exact opposite under Donald Trump."

But Senator Abetz disagreed, arguing that was "a very negative view of the US".

"Your black brothers are in fact getting jobs and, they might not now be earning as much as you would like, but given that they've got jobs, they're better off than they were without a job," he told Dr West.

"Surely you have to give a tick to that."

"Hitler and Mussolini had low unemployment rates. They made the trains run on time. We're talking about moral and spiritual issues. Not just the numbers," Dr West retorted.

'Love is always deeper than politics'

The panel also faced questions over the Racial Discrimination Act, with one audience member saying he faced discrimination on a daily basis because of his race or religion.

"Why do you believe it is OK to remove the protections that I have?" he asked Senator Abetz.

"Do you believe that bigots should have the right to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or group of people because of their race or ethnicity?"

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"I believe in the right of free speech. It is a fundamental principle on which our society has been based for a long time," Senator Abetz responded.

"You can have all the laws you like … all the laws in the world does not as of necessity change what is inside the individual.

"And so all we can seek to do is modify people's outward behaviour. And if they engage in racial vilification, then I think that is something that most of us would disagree with.

"I remember looking at some industrial history where in the 1930s people had advertisements outside their premises, vacancies, 'Catholics need not apply'. Horrid stuff which thank goodness our society moved on from."

Anne Aly said we needed to be talking about the nature of debate. ( ABC News )

"Was that freedom of speech, Eric?" Ms Aly asked.

"Because every time you call this about free speech, and your rights, you are denying this gentleman and you are denying his experiences of racism.

"He's saying he has to prepare for every morning. You are denying the experiences of racism of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Australians. You are denying them their right to live peacefully, to live with respect, every time you bring up that free speech argument."

Another audience member asked if public debate would become more polarising and violent in the future, after recounting a friend's experience where he faced "aggressive behaviour" while campaigning against same-sex marriage.

Ms Aly said she had heard similar incidents on the other side of the debate as well, saying that with the advent of social media, there had been a "letting go of moral and ethical limitations we put on ourselves in the way we communicate in a respectful way".

"I think we need to be talking about the nature of debate in Australia and how we move forward with that," she said.

"What surprised me throughout that debate was that those that were allegedly asserting tolerance were in fact the most intolerant during the debate," Senator Abetz said.

But Dr West argued people had to learn how to disagree well.

"On the one hand we defend yourselves and others who are concerned about the dialogue, the dignity of each voice," he said.

"We must learn how to disagree and disagree in such a way that we can still have our humanity.

"Friendships are deeper than politics, love is always deeper than politics.

"If you haven't discovered that, you don't know what love is, but that's another show."