Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her supplementary question. I was indicating in my previous answer that we have laws against hate speech in our country. They are laws that have been there since 1995 and they have very well served our nation. I hope very much that we will have bipartisan support in our country for these laws.

In addition to these laws, as the member for Robertson asked, we have a number of programs that the Human Rights Commission administer. These are part of national strategies that we have to combat racism in our community. They are programs such as 'Say NO to Racism' and 'Stand up Against Racism', and they are accompanied by various forms of media campaign.

It is heartening to see that the kinds of messages that the Human Rights Commission have been putting out for several years, with the assistance of a number of sporting figures in our country and sporting codes in our country, are, it seems, being taken to heart by Australians. I point in that regard to the kinds of incidents we have seen on public transport. I can point to some incidents in Melbourne where passengers have stood up and condemned the racist language they heard directed against fellow passengers. That is the kind of attitude we want to see from Australians, where people stand up and say no to racism. (Time expired)

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