Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. What action has the government taken to support a more open and tolerant society and to respond to threats of hate speech in Australia?

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

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. Around one in five Australians have told the Human Rights Commission that they have experienced race hate talk such as verbal abuse, racial slurs or name calling. More than one in 20 Australians say that they have been physically attacked because of their race. These are concerning statistics, and I am sure they will be of concern to all those in this House. Our government is committed to standing up against racial hatred in Australia. We believe that speech based on racial hatred must not be tolerated. Racist hate speech is a threat to the dignity of individuals, to communities and, ultimately, to the security of the Australian people. We all know from bitter experience what hate speech can lead to.

In 1994 the Keating government introduced hate-speech provisions into the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act. In introducing these laws the then Attorney-General, Michael Lavarch, was clear about their purpose, saying:

The Racial Hatred Bill is about the protection of groups and individuals from threats of violence and the incitement of racial hatred, which leads inevitably to violence.

…   …   …

No Australian should live in fear because of his or her race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

For almost 20 years these provisions have served these noble purposes, helping to protect Australians and everyone in the Australian community by making hate speech unlawful. The provisions have been used in a number of serious cases, including to prevent Holocaust deniers from publishing their poisonous falsehoods. Freedom of speech is also a value that the Australian Labor Party holds dear, and that is why our laws against hate speech contain broad defences to ensure that open debate and political communication in our country are not unnecessarily constrained.

In April this year, the Prime Minister demonstrated our government's commitment to stand up against hate speech and discrimination by signing on behalf of our nation the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism. The declaration commits its signatories to take meaningful legislative action to combat not only anti-Semitism but also discrimination against any minority, and in particular the declaration commits parliamentarians to legislate effective hate crime legislation and make illegal incitement to racial hatred. We already have such laws in Australia in the form of the hate speech provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act, and I welcome the decision of coalition members to follow the Prime Minister's lead in signing the London declaration. I very much hope that this means that we have bipartisan support for laws that already prohibit hate speech in our nation. (Time expired)

Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. I note in the minister's response his reference to both national matters and concerns and also international matters as we proceed on this very important issue in concert with others. Are there programs that the Human Rights Commission have engaged in regarding hate speech, of which the Attorney-General is aware?

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to 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)

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.