Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a migrant of Eurasian heritage, I see the need to protect ethnic and racial minorities on the one hand but I also see the duty to protect mainstream Australians from situations of reverse discrimination. As I said in my maiden speech, multiculturalism and reconciliation is a two-way street of give and take, with neither group taking advantage of or having a lend of the other. The sentiment in the proverbial pub is often resentment that sometimes ethnic minorities use the provisions of the law to take things too far. Our challenge is to make a law that is fair to all.

I have listened with interest to the members who have contributed to this debate. As chair of the inquiry into freedom of speech in Australia, I, along with other members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have received extensive and substantial evidence from submitters, which demonstrates that the balance between protection from racial discrimination and freedom of expression is an issue about which many Australians have a keen interest.

The issue of free speech as it relates to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act has attracted significant public interest in recent years following a number of high-profile cases in which the mainstream public became concerned that justice did not appear to be done and that ordinary Australians were being penalised by a law and a system which inflicted substantial costs and inordinate time delays on respondents to complaints concerning matters that did not appear to offend mainstream community standards. The government needs to ensure that resources are being directed at preventing material racial discrimination and serious conduct resulting in harm, violence or incitement to violent acts—not cartoons and trivial matters.

Many members of the public mistakenly believe that if section 18C is amended it will permit abusive and vilifying behaviour based on race, not taking into account that there are already other legal protections in force against incitement to violence, harassment or intimidation. As I said in my first speech in this House on 9 December 2013:

... as a nation we must address the issues of multiculturalism and reconciliation, whilst preserving the fundamental character and values of our Australian identity. These complex social processes are by necessity two-way streets. There has to be a degree of give and take to promote a balanced approach to the competing goals of diversity, assimilation and integration in our emerging national identity.

From my own experience I can attest to the value of free speech in interacting with people of different cultures and fully participating in my local community.

Much has changed in Australian society since section 18C was introduced to the Racial Discrimination Act in 1995 during the Keating government; hence the need to revisit what words actually mean in contemporary society. In the current era of political correctness, the threshold of what 'offends' has shifted dramatically. It has been reported in the press that there have been instances where celebrating Christmas by singing Christmas Carols in public places has been deemed as being 'offensive' to minorities. The inquiry viewed freedom of speech as it relates to constructive criticism and open debate in the context of a workplace, social or public setting where it ought to be permissible to discuss culturally sensitive matters in the normal course of business. Our duty is to govern for all Australians, and that includes mainstream Australians who feel that their right to free speech is being infringed by political correctness and the overzealous application of laws such as section 18C. Mainstream Australians deserve the same rights as racial and ethnic minorities. It is important that the law does not promote reverse discrimination.

The government's objective is to practically simplify the law so that, where there is a dispute over cultural sensitivities in the workplace, in public or in a social setting, ordinary Australians in the suburbs and towns will be able to resolve their differences with minimal input from the referee or umpire in a way that is affordable and timely. We are not talking about sheep stations; we are dealing with offences at the lower end of the spectrum of 'insult' and 'offend' which happen occasionally in the course of everyday social interactions. From a common sense perspective, what we are trying to achieve is the protection of ethnic and racial groups from harm and detriment— (Time expired) PETER KHALIL MP

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