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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/mar/21/malcolm-turnbull-bill-shorten-liberals-parliament-racial-discrimination-act-politics-live
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| Malcolm Turnbull says 18C language had 'lost credibility' – politics live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.31am GMT | |
| 02:31 | |
| I am having trouble with the prime minister’s logic on 18C. | |
| The Coalition has to change the Racial Discrimination Act because free speech is restricted. | |
| The Coalition has come up with a change – remove insult and offend and insert harassment – to enshrine more free speech. | |
| But it will make racial protections stronger – in other words it will be more likely to catch racist speech. | |
| Am I missing something? | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.34am GMT | |
| 2.27am GMT | |
| 02:27 | |
| Tony Burke: | |
| In every school in Australia at moment, there are children, many of them wearing orange, celebrating harmony and being taught about respect. And here in Canberra, we have a government wanting to give permission for more racial hate speech. Yesterday, this government released its multicultural policy. It didn’t even survive 24 hours before they walked all over it. | |
| 2.25am GMT | |
| 02:25 | |
| Labor shadow attorney Mark Dreyfus says Malcolm Turnbull’s 18C change is not a strengthening of the law, it is a weakening of the law. | |
| It is the first time I have ever seen law reform in this country being conducted with reference to claims [QUT and Bill Leak] which have failed. Claims which have failed to meet the standards we’ve set in the law. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.26am GMT | |
| 2.22am GMT | |
| 02:22 | |
| Katharine Murphy has done a round up on 18C, drawing together all of the elements that we know so far. | |
| The Turnbull government will press ahead with an overhaul of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act despite explicit warnings from party moderates and ministers that the change will cost the government politically in marginal seats. | |
| After debate in the Coalition party room on Tuesday, in which the former prime minister Tony Abbott congratulated Malcolm Turnbull for pursuing reform, and the Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, expressed his view that overhauling 18C really wasn’t a priority – the government resolved to press ahead with both legislative change and procedural change. | |
| Five moderates spoke against changing the RDA – New South Wales Liberals David Coleman, Julian Leeser, and Craig Laundy, and Victorians, Julia Banks and Russell Broadbent – but all resolved to stand behind the new policy. | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, the minister for international development and the Pacific, warned the party room the decision would hurt the government in ethnic communities. She said Labor would mount an aggressive campaign attacking the Coalition, a campaign the government would need to counter. | |
| 2.19am GMT | |
| 02:19 | |
| George Brandis says harass is more powerful language than insult and offend | |
| George Brandis says most other countries have “harass” as proscribed language. | |
| Harassment is a more powerful language. There is no country in the world that has “offend, insult, humiliate”, as the terms, the prohibited conduct. But almost every country in the world, or every like-minded country, that has protections against vilification, uses the term “harass” as one of the proscribed types of conduct. | |
| Yet, for unexplained reasons, that was missed when this legislation was passed in 1995. Although, as I said in my opening remarks, the recommendation was that it should be part of the law. It wasn’t. We are correcting a gap in the law. | |
| 2.15am GMT | |
| 02:15 | |
| Malcolm Turnbull: 'We are strengthening the race hate laws' | |
| So if the law passes, we will be allowed to insult and offend but not harass, intimidate and humiliate. | |
| Paul Osborne of AAP asks: Australia is making a bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. What’s your message to people who say – well, why should Australia have such a seat if you’re watering down race hate laws? | |
| Turnbull: | |
| I absolutely reject the premise of your question. We are strengthening the race hate laws. These are stronger laws, more effective laws because they are clearer laws. We are strengthening the Racial Discrimination Act. We are strengthening it because it’s clearer, it will be a more effective protection against race hate. As far as international commitments, I can say, and George will explain, there has been concern that the generality of the language in 18C may, in fact, create issues of that kind. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.32am GMT | |
| 2.10am GMT | |
| 02:10 | |
| Paul Karp has another try but is again rebuffed by the prime minister. | |
| Q: Are we going to have a plebiscite on 18C? It is a contentious social reform ... Why are elites allowed to have this but same-sex marriage is going to be done by a popular vote? | |
| Thank you for the editorial. | |
| Turnbull takes the next question. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.10am GMT | |
| 2.08am GMT | |
| 02:08 | |
| Turnbull says the law will be changed to provide better protection and not “mere slights”. | |
| From Andrew Probyn: You referred to a very small slight. Isn’t this the point that a rich white guy who refers to something as “very small slight” might not understand what other people feel? And secondly, just on the QUT case and the Bill Leak case, they could have both been dealt with with proper process, couldn’t they? | |
| Well, an improvement to the process of the kind we proposed, we are proposing, would certainly result in a better processing. But nonetheless, the language has been the subject of extensive criticism both from leading legal professionals, from leaders from the left and the right. The language itself is very general and does not strike the right balance between protecting people from racial vilification and free speech. | |
| 2.04am GMT | |
| 02:04 | |
| Malcolm Turnbull says of his previous statements not to change 18C, he says the QUT case and the Bill Leak case had changed the circumstances. | |
| The bill will be introduced into the Senate first. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.22am GMT | |
| 2.02am GMT | |
| 02:02 | |
| The first question: | |
| What do you say to a black person or an Asian person who is experiencing racism? What do say to them when they hear the removal of these words? | |
| The new language will better and more clearly protect people from racial vilification and in a more generic term, from harassment or intimidation, because the language is clearer. | |
| 1.59am GMT | 1.59am GMT |
| 01:59 | 01:59 |
| George Brandis says they will introduce harassment to the Racial Discrimination Act. | George Brandis says they will introduce harassment to the Racial Discrimination Act. |
| The HRC president will have to make a preliminary assessment on a complaint over its substance before it goes to formal inquiry. | The HRC president will have to make a preliminary assessment on a complaint over its substance before it goes to formal inquiry. |
| There will be a requirement that a complaint be lodged within six months of the conduct complained of and an obligation on the commission to use best endeavours to resolve complaints within 12 months of a complaint being filed. | There will be a requirement that a complaint be lodged within six months of the conduct complained of and an obligation on the commission to use best endeavours to resolve complaints within 12 months of a complaint being filed. |
| 1.55am GMT | 1.55am GMT |
| 01:55 | 01:55 |
| Malcolm Turnbull: we are defending Australians from racial vilification with a stronger fairer law | Malcolm Turnbull: we are defending Australians from racial vilification with a stronger fairer law |
| The prime minister is speaking now. | The prime minister is speaking now. |
| We are defending Australians from racial vilification by replacing language which has lost credibility. It has lost the credibility that a good law needs and so the changes we are proposing to section 18C will provide the right balance between protecting Australians from racial vilification and defending and enabling their right of free speech, upon which our democracy, our way of life, depends. | We are defending Australians from racial vilification by replacing language which has lost credibility. It has lost the credibility that a good law needs and so the changes we are proposing to section 18C will provide the right balance between protecting Australians from racial vilification and defending and enabling their right of free speech, upon which our democracy, our way of life, depends. |
| We are also amending the law so as to ensure that the Human Rights Commission will offer procedural fairness, will deal with cases promptly and swiftly and fairly, and that’s very important too. We need to restore confidence to the Racial Discrimination Act and to the Human Rights Commission’s administration of it. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.27am GMT | |
| 1.47am GMT | 1.47am GMT |
| 01:47 | 01:47 |
| Labor’s Julie Collins has welcomed the appointment Julia Gillard as Chair of Beyondblue. | Labor’s Julie Collins has welcomed the appointment Julia Gillard as Chair of Beyondblue. |
| Ms Gillard brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role as Chair given the commitment she made to driving mental health reform during her time as Prime Minister. | Ms Gillard brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role as Chair given the commitment she made to driving mental health reform during her time as Prime Minister. |
| There is no doubt Ms Gillard will be a champion for people living with mental illness and her appointment as Chair will ensure the mental health of all Australians continues to be a national priority. | There is no doubt Ms Gillard will be a champion for people living with mental illness and her appointment as Chair will ensure the mental health of all Australians continues to be a national priority. |
| 1.34am GMT | 1.34am GMT |
| 01:34 | 01:34 |
| It should be underlined (or highlighted) that the legal definitions of “insult” and “offend” in 18C are different to the pub meanings. | It should be underlined (or highlighted) that the legal definitions of “insult” and “offend” in 18C are different to the pub meanings. |
| Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act: The legal meaning of "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" #Auspol pic.twitter.com/hR2XBUkXWI | Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act: The legal meaning of "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" #Auspol pic.twitter.com/hR2XBUkXWI |
| 1.28am GMT | 1.28am GMT |
| 01:28 | 01:28 |
| Malcolm Turnbull and George Brandis have a press conference at 12.50pm. This will explain aforementioned 18C changes. | Malcolm Turnbull and George Brandis have a press conference at 12.50pm. This will explain aforementioned 18C changes. |
| We understand it is remove insult and offend, add harass, but that has not been confirmed anywhere by government. | We understand it is remove insult and offend, add harass, but that has not been confirmed anywhere by government. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.35am GMT | at 1.35am GMT |
| 1.27am GMT | 1.27am GMT |
| 01:27 | 01:27 |
| Meanwhile: | Meanwhile: |
| The World Meteorological Organisation warns the record-breaking heat that made 2016 the hottest year ever recorded has continued into 2017, pushing the world into “truly uncharted territory”. | The World Meteorological Organisation warns the record-breaking heat that made 2016 the hottest year ever recorded has continued into 2017, pushing the world into “truly uncharted territory”. |
| 1.25am GMT | 1.25am GMT |
| 01:25 | 01:25 |
| Eric Abetz is cockahoop about the planned changes to 18C. | Eric Abetz is cockahoop about the planned changes to 18C. |
| He is reminding all the Johnny-come-latelys to free speech that he has been a long-time advocate of reforming section 18C. | He is reminding all the Johnny-come-latelys to free speech that he has been a long-time advocate of reforming section 18C. |
| Abetz says he advocated for change dating as far back as 2011 and announced in 2015 that he would cross the floor on the issue. | Abetz says he advocated for change dating as far back as 2011 and announced in 2015 that he would cross the floor on the issue. |
| These common-sense reforms will go a long way to ensuring that Australians can engage in free speech while maintaining protections against racially motivated harassment and intimidation.” | These common-sense reforms will go a long way to ensuring that Australians can engage in free speech while maintaining protections against racially motivated harassment and intimidation.” |
| I am also pleased that the Government will rein in the Australian Human Rights Commission which has morphed into self-appointed thought police.” | I am also pleased that the Government will rein in the Australian Human Rights Commission which has morphed into self-appointed thought police.” |
| 1.08am GMT | 1.08am GMT |
| 01:08 | 01:08 |
| OK more briefings from joint party room. | OK more briefings from joint party room. |
| According to another MP, Barnaby Joyce’s speech suggested that amending 18C was not a priority for the government. That sounds more like his public stance, that people are not raising this with him. | According to another MP, Barnaby Joyce’s speech suggested that amending 18C was not a priority for the government. That sounds more like his public stance, that people are not raising this with him. |
| Amongst the Libs, the debate consisted of those in more ethnically diverse seats raising concerns including: | Amongst the Libs, the debate consisted of those in more ethnically diverse seats raising concerns including: |
| David Coleman (Banks, NSW) | David Coleman (Banks, NSW) |
| Craig Laundy (Reid, NSW) | Craig Laundy (Reid, NSW) |
| Julian Leeser (Berowra, NSW) | Julian Leeser (Berowra, NSW) |
| Julia Banks (Chisholm, Victoria) | Julia Banks (Chisholm, Victoria) |
| And also Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Victoria) who is in a regional seat. | And also Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Victoria) who is in a regional seat. |