Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. Australia is the most successful multicultural society in the world. It is a democracy founded on the rule of law, founded on fundamental freedoms of speech, of worship, of assembly. We are a nation founded on freedoms, and clearly always we need to make sure that our laws get the balance right between defending the strength of our multicultural society and the mutual respect on which it depends and those freedoms. It is perfectly appropriate for a committee of this parliament—the Human Rights Committee no less—to consider those matters. The honourable member may reflect that only this morning the President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Triggs, welcomed such an inquiry and recognised that there should be changes.

The fact of the matter is that there is a broad array of opinion. Parliamentary committees are an appropriate place for those opinions to be ventilated and heard and considered, and the honourable member, given her distinguished academic past, would do well to remember that it is best not to caricature views in this arena but to treat them with respect so that the parliament, through its committee, can consider these important issues—defending freedom, preserving freedom of speech and ensuring that the foundation of our great multicultural society, mutual respect, is maintained.

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