George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Dastyari, indulge me and allow me to finish my last sentence. I was interrupted by the bell. Mr Turnbull not only has a commitment to freedom of speech stretching back during the time of his prime ministership and as a minister in Mr Abbott's government; he has a lifelong and distinguished commitment to freedom of speech, as anyone who has followed his career can say.

Coming to your question, the government is not following anyone's lead. We have made a decision because section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, in the manner in which it is currently written, is a bad law because it does not effectively protect against racial vilification. It actually omits racial harassment as one of the grounds of protection and it imposes unnecessary restrictions upon freedom of speech. (Time expired)