Parliament’s joint committee on human rights is moving towards producing a unanimous bipartisan report on controversial changes to the Racial Discrimination Act that will float a range of potential reform options for the Turnbull government to consider – but stop short of making concrete recommendations.
Guardian Australia understands the committee’s disposition, as of Monday morning, is to produce a unanimous report from both Coalition and Labor members that will recommend the government consider a spectrum of policy change, ranging from minimal tweaks to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s complaints handling procedures for 18C cases – to significant amendments to sections 18C and 18D of the legislation.
The most ambitious option for legislative reform may go beyond removing the words “insult” and “offend” from the legislation, and propose more significant change, including inserting a broader range of exemptions in section 18D.
The committee’s much anticipated report is due to be tabled in federal parliament on Tuesday afternoon, and it follows three months of public hearings.
The likely lack of concrete recommendations in the report reflects two objectives – to try and produce a report that Labor committee members can own; and it also reflects the fact the government is divided internally about how to proceed on the sensitive issue.
Some Liberals believe changes to the RDA regime should just focus on procedural improvements – boosting the AHRC’s ability to knock out vexatious complaints at an earlier stage – and others insist that won’t go far enough, and reforms need to involve an overhaul to the legislation.
The right faction of the Liberal party has pushed vigorously for a legislative overhaul of 18C, focussing in recent times on removing the words “insult” and “offend” from the legislation – but moderate Liberal MPs, particularly in Sydney, have been firm in arguing the government will send entirely the wrong signal to ethnic communities if it is seen to water down hate speech protections.
This issue has been debated in the Liberal party room several times since the 18C debate was revived by the right faction immediately after the federal election last year.
The lack of concrete recommendations will put the ball back firmly in Malcolm Turnbull’s court, at a time when internal sensitivities inside the government are high courtesy of Tony Abbott’s recent call for the government to woo back its conservative base with a pledge to abolish the AHRC.
Government conservatives are concerned about the drift of Coalition support to One Nation. This week’s Newspoll says Labor has now established a 10-point lead over the Coalition, and the Coalition’s vote is continuing to bleed to One Nation. One Nation has doubled its primary vote to 10% since November, now matching the Greens.
Section 18C of the RDA says it is unlawful for a person to do an act in public which is “reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” another person or a group of people.
Section 18D makes exceptions for artistic works, discussions, debates, event reports in the public interest and fair comment if it was in “expression of a genuine belief” held by the person making the comment.
Australia’s race discrimination commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, recently warned the federal parliament against watering down section 18C, arguing now is an “especially dangerous time” to contemplate removing protections from hate speech.
“It causes immense anxiety for many to be having this debate when the times are so challenging for race relations,” the race discrimination commissioner said in a speech in Adelaide in the middle of the month.
“Western democracies are becoming infected by fear, pessimism and populist nationalism. It’s clear we can no longer take liberal values of tolerance, equality and non-discrimination for granted.”
