Page 823 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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will distance themselves from the federal Attorney-General’s position that Australians have a right to be bigots and take a more inclusive approach to these issues.
In conclusion, I thank Dr Bourke for bringing forward this motion on a very important issue. It is one where, unfortunately, I think the ACT is again obligated to respond to ensure that the ACT does not regress and that we have a more respectful and tolerant approach than that being suggested by the federal government.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Disability, Children and Young People, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Women, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Racing and Gaming) (11.48): I thank Dr Bourke for bringing this motion to the Assembly. At the start, I will say that it is heartening to see that we stand as one and say that there is no space or any condition that would accept or allow any racial discrimination in our community.
As Dr Bourke’s motion notes, Canberra is one of the most multicultural Australian cities. Our community embraces multiculturalism, as was shown by the 250,000 people that came into Civic over three days for the National Multicultural Festival earlier this year. We are truly blessed to live in a place in which the contributions of people from diverse groups and communities are valued, appreciated, respected and celebrated.
Yet, sadly, bullying and racism remain part of our life. Figures released by the national kids helpline telephone counselling service show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students from language backgrounds other than English are much more likely to experience bullying at school than other students are. One of the saddest cases involved a 13-year-old boy and his brother who were constantly bullied about their Aboriginal background. The students were asked to stop; they ended up being suspended and their parents were consulted. However, it turned out that the parents also harassed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of their community.
This is why protections are so important. As the Race Discrimination Commissioner said in a speech earlier this month, the commonwealth government’s proposed changes mean that “Australians would have to look elsewhere for civil remedies against racial abuse and harassment”. And while many would say that they can sue for defamation, the Race Discrimination Commissioner points out that civil legal action is an “avenue that is far from universally accessible to Australians, particularly minorities who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds”. He also said:
It is also cold comfort to say that those who experience racial vilification still have the means to repudiate racist speech with their own speech, or should be content with entrusting their faith in their fellow citizens to speak up on their behalf. What some of those calling for more free speech do not recognise is that racial vilification can often harm free speech, by silencing those on which it is targeted. Here, there is a very fundamental failure of human understanding on the part of some protagonists in the debate—a disappointing lack of empathy and psychological insight. These protagonists do not understand that those who are vulnerable to abuse may not have the ability or assurance to fight back with their own words. They do not understand the searing pain of racist laceration. They do not understand that a riposte does not heal the deep wound of racist abuse.
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