Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for International Development) Share this | Hansard source

Says another class of 2016 person sitting next to me, the member for Bruce! One of the very first debates that I got to participate in in this place was the debate to protect section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to undertake any act that is reasonably likely to 'offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate' a person or a group because of their race, the colour of their skin or where they were born. In a country that prides itself on Australian values—the values of mateship, a fair go and equality—this should not be controversial. It should not be controversial that we take a moment to ensure that we are not offending, humiliating, insulting or intimidating our fellow Australians because of their race, the colour of their skin or where they were born. This should not be controversial.

At the time of that debate in 2016 the Attorney-General—appointed by Prime Minister Turnbull at the time—said that people have a right to be bigots, and those opposite mounted an argument against section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. It was an argument that pitted Australian against Australian and rights against rights. They argued that the right to free speech trumped the right to feel safe and trumped the right to live your life without offence, without being humiliated, without being insulted, without feeling like the 'other' and without being made to feel like the lesser. I'm incredibly passionate about this, as is anyone who has been on the receiving end. If you have been on the receiving end of discrimination, if you have been insulted, if you have been humiliated and if you have been offended because of the colour of your skin or because of your race, then you know how deeply it cuts. You know how it carries you. You carry it inside you like a little piece of a broken bone your entire life. You know how much it impacts you.

So we went to that debate in 2016, I am proud to say that we won the debate and that section 18 remains a vital part of the Racial Discrimination Act. As I said in my first speech in this place, I will fight for every person's rights. I will fight for the right of free speech for every Australian. But I will not stand by and watch others get brow beaten into accepting second-class citizenship because of the colour of their skin.

This government believes in the right of all people to be protected from bigotry, from vilification, from discrimination and from hate. We will continue to foster respect, belonging, understanding and inclusion, and we will continue to create real change in the lives of Australians. Because while the Racial Discrimination Act has guided us for 50 years, we need to make sure we have the right measures in place to protect multiculturalism in Australia for the next 50.

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