Liberal frontbencher Josh Frydenberg says if the Turnbull government pushes ahead with changes to the Racial Discrimination Act it would want to take the public with it.
He said he was also fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding Section 18C but it needed to be changed because it wasn’t working well in practice.
In another sign that the conservative push to overhaul section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act is gaining ground within the Coalition, Frydenberg told Sky News on Sunday that the government would want the community’s support before it made any changes to the law.
He said he had never abandoned his belief that the words “insult” and “offend” should be removed from 18C.
“I think the key point to understand is that we all value individual freedom and freedom of expression, and freedom of speech, and we also want to see strong laws to prevent racial vilification,” he said on Sunday.
“I’m very sympathetic with many people, including in the Jewish community, who don’t want to see any changes to racial vilification laws. I can understand where they’re coming from.
“But I look at the practical outcomes of 18C as it currently stands and I don’t think that is producing an optimal outcome for our community, and that’s why I do support change.
“But we do have to proceed carefully in a considered way, and we do need to air and to ventilate some of the options that may be on the table.
But the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, described the push to change 18C as an “insider debate,” saying most Australians were more worried about house prices, and access to healthcare and education.
He described it as “solution looking for a problem”, and watering down 18C would just make it easier for people to be racists.
A case involving three Queensland University of Technology students under section 18C was thrown out by Brisbane’s federal court on Friday, sparking fresh calls for 18C to be amended to remove the words “offend” and “insult”.
Frydenberg said he has been on the record for some time supporting such changes to 18C.
“I don’t think the balance has been struck, I think that the threshold with ‘offend’ and ‘insult’ is too low,” he told Sky News.
He said Turnbull was absolutely right to proceed carefully because of the sensitivities of these issues and the need have the public on board for any proposed changes.
Di Natale warned Turnbull not to go down this route, saying it would just make it easier for people to be racists.
“That’s the outcome to a change to 18C. Let’s make it easier for people to be bigots and racists,” Di Natale told Sky News.
Tony Abbott tried and failed to overhaul 18C, which is one of the main reasons he lost the support of conservatives to remain prime minister last September.
Almost immediately after the July election, conservatives in the government moved to make 18C Turnbull’s test and they have not let up since.
