SPEECH - 90 SECOND STATEMENTS: SECTION 18C DOES NOT NEED TO BE CHANGED - CANBERRA - WEDNESDAY, 1 MARCH 2017

01 March 2017

*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY ***

Messing around with the Racial Discrimination Act is an ideological obsession for the Liberal party. 

The more they talk about it, the more it makes you wonder:

What exactly do they want to be able to say?

What humiliating vitriol do they think the government of Australia should be encouraging?

We live in a marvellous multicultural nation – enlarged and enriched by generations of migrants, from all around the world.

We don’t just tolerate diversity in Australia – we embrace it.

That’s not something we should sacrifice for an ideological agenda.

Weakening safeguards against hate speech won’t create one single job.

Giving a green light to racism won’t solve traffic jams in the great suburbs of Australia.

Softening the Racial Discrimination Act will not help pensioners pay their bills, or put money back in the pockets of workers whose wages this government is standing by and allowing to be cut.

The debate over Section 18C is a metaphor for the current government.

Totally divided.

Two camps at war with each other.

No-one with the leadership, or authority to make a decision and carry the day.

The approach to 18C changes is classic Turnbull Government: divided down the middle, two camps and no-one in charge. 

Well, the bipartisan committee has recommended no change to the law.

The ball is now in the Prime Minister’s court. He should rule out ‘the right to be a bigot’ once and for all.