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

Senator Kitching, I think we all know that in a free society and in a democracy there is room for robust debate. That is why, by the way, some 20 years or so ago the High Court acknowledged an implied constitutional freedom of political communication for the very reason, as the High Court acknowledged in a series of decisions, that it is necessarily implicit in the nature of Australia as a parliamentary democracy that there should actually be a constitutionally recognised protection of freedom of speech. Do you dispute that, Senator Kitching? Of course our society is based on freedom of speech, but it is based on other values as well, including tolerance, including mutual respect and including, as the government is seeking to do, strong and robust antivilification laws.