Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Quite frankly, Australians deserve better. They deserve a government that will stand up for them, not a government that is so wracked by its own internal divisions that it would put them at risk by removing their rights to protection. This is a government that is united in their attack against workers, united in their support for tax breaks for the big end of town, united in their disdain for Australian pensioners and Australia's most vulnerable, yet divided on the rights of Australians for protection from racial and ethnic hate speech. It is a government that is using section 18C to create an ideological divide within its own party lines and that is beholden to the far right on its backbench. And of all days to do this, it has chosen today—a day that coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

On 21 March 1960 police in Sharpeville, South Africa opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the UN General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. Harmony Day—as we celebrate it here in Australia—is more than just about eating exotic food and wearing exotic clothing. It is more than just celebrating our great cultural diversity by having some naan bread with your lunch and finishing off with some Turkish delight after dinner. It is more than just paying lip service to those who continue to face real barriers to participation because of the way they look, because of the clothes they wear or even because of their foreign-sounding names. It is about respect. It is about fostering a society in which we respect all, regardless of their race, their colour, their ethnicity, their cultural heritage or their religion. It is a day for promoting substantive equality by eliminating barriers to participation for all people. It is a day when we reflect on who we are as a nation and how we can remain vigilant against racism, discrimination and the hate speech that divide us.

As I look over the divide to the other side of this chamber, I see a government made up of people who have never had to defend themselves because of their race—with a few notable exceptions. I see a government made up of people—with a few notable exceptions—who have never felt the sting of race hate and never had to sit alone and cry tears for their children, who are subjected to hatred and discrimination for no reason other than their ethnicity, race or religion. I see a government made up of people who are unable to stand up for those in their electorates who have to deal with race hate on a regular basis, and that makes me sad.

This year's theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration. The theme acknowledges that every person is entitled to human rights without discrimination and that the rights to equality and nondiscrimination are cornerstones of human rights law. How ironic then that this government is today talking about removing the rights of Australians to recourse for racially and ethnically based hate. How ironic that this government is today talking about removing the provisions that for several decades have served this country well in protecting thousands of its citizens from racial and ethnic hatred. Perhaps they think that it, too, is a gift.

I want to particularly address the discussion around removing the words 'offend' and 'insult' in section 18C and replacing them with 'harass'. Harassment, by its definition, leaves it open to argue that the offending behaviour must constitute an ongoing and protracted campaign against a person because of a characteristic such as race. Section 18C currently operates so as to capture some of the forms of racial harassment because it captures acts which humiliate and insult. In other words, harassment is already implied in the act, already used in the consideration of complaints.

The inquiry did not recommend any changes to the law. This actually has the member for Goldstein's tiny little fingerprints all over it. It is a sad indictment of the ability of those members of this parliament to represent all Australians if they cannot, or will not, attempt to stand up for the rights of the people they represent. Instead of trying to take away the right to recourse and protection, this government would better spend its time—(Time expired)

See this speech in context