Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Barton for putting it so eloquently and so well. It's just great to see some of these young people that are here today in our parliament. When I compare it to the parliament that I joined in 2004 and the faces all around us, how it's changed and how it's changed for the better is just incredible. When I see members like the member for Barton, it gives me great joy that we are finally coming of age in this parliament. We still have a long way to go, but we're just coming to that point where we are truly a reflection of our communities. It's so important to ensure that we honour and celebrate those things—just as it's important to honour and celebrate milestones in our political history, such as the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act.

The Racial Discrimination Act was the cornerstone of our modern-day society in ensuring that everyone was treated equal under the law, even though that was the case under our Constitution. This value-added to the significant pieces of legislation in Australia's history. It was a cornerstone of our journey towards becoming a truly multicultural nation but also a truly egalitarian nation. This landmark act came into effect on Friday 31 October 1975, under the Whitlam Labor government. It was the first legislation of its kind in Australia to focus squarely on human rights and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race. So what did that mean? It meant that, even though we had a Constitution that looked at all of us equally and fairly—unless you were of Aboriginal descent, of course; we know that it took many years to come up to the mark there, and we still have a long way to go. But what this meant was that under the law you could not be vilified on the basis of race. It embodied a principle that has long been part of our Australian spirit.

The Racial Discrimination Act gave life to Australia's commitment under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It signalled a new direction for our nation—a future built on acceptance, inclusion and respect for all cultures. This legislation protects people across Australia from unfair treatment based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin in many areas of public life. It also ensures equal footing and preserves fundamental freedoms. It goes further by prohibiting insults, humiliation and vilification—actions that deny basic human rights. In short, it guarantees equal enjoyment and exercise of those rights for all Australians.

We've seen some pretty horrific things on our TV news and other media on national days such as Anzac Day and just recently, a couple of weeks ago, on Remembrance Day. There are certain groups that take great enjoyment in vilifying people and ensuring that people are made to feel lesser than all of us. Those are areas where governments and police et cetera can take action because of this particular act. If you removed this act from 50 years ago, there would not be much action that you could take against groups like that. So it is squarely one of our fundamental laws in this country that ensures that equality that I spoke about and the rights of everyone to coexist in a respectful way.

At the heart of the act is section 18C, which provides protection against racial vilification. Alongside it is section 18D, which offers exemptions for actions done in good faith, such as artistic works, research et cetera.

The pathway to getting this act through wasn't easy. It is testament to the determination and grit of then senator Lionel Murphy, as Attorney-General, who introduced the bill into the Senate not once but three times. Three times it was introduced, and it was rejected—voted against—all three times. It's something just mind boggling, if you think about it today, that a racial discrimination act to ensure that everyone's rights are protected had people in this place voting against it.

The debate was divided. But the Whitlam government understood that the bill was more than just another bill or more than just law; it was about social change. We see the fruits of that social change today. Attorney-General Kep Enderby said at the time:

… the Bill will perform an important educative role. In addition, the introduction of legislation will furnish legal background on which to rest changes reflecting basic community attitudes. The fact that racial discrimination is unlawful will make it easier for people to resist social pressures that result in discrimination.

Australian laws exist to express the values of a civilised society. The Whitlam government reflected the future of where we are today and the current values of Australia: a multicultural country that embraces diversity and is proud of it.

When I think of our diggers that died in World War I, in Gallipoli, and right through World War II, and I think of the many theatres of war that we've engaged in—Afghanistan, Vietnam—it's all about the individual freedom, the ability to be free in a nation with a vibrant democracy, where everyone is treated equally regardless of race, religion, the colour of their skin et cetera.

Going back to part 18C, which forms a very important part of this act, it hasn't been without its challenges. Section 18C, the core protection against racial vilification, came under threat not that long ago. In 2016—or maybe it was 2014—the then Attorney-General of the coalition government introduced and argued for a bill proposing the repeal of 18C. It would have basically meant people would have had the right to be bigots, if that had gone through back then.

How could we allow that? How could we permit open racism and discrimination to creep back into our society? Imagine if that bill had passed. Australia would not be the country it is today. Migrant families could have been relegated to a second-class citizenship and denied the fair life that they deserved. I've made this statement in this place a couple of times that, if you think back to when we were negotiating mass migration in the late 1940s, there was a mindset in this place before the bills went through that enabled us to bring migrants in to fill labour shortages and basically 'populate or perish'. The argument was that migrant workers should be paid less than Australian workers. That was the argument that was taking place in this chamber back then. Thank God the unions and the Labor Party relentlessly disagreed to it. Can you imagine what sort country that Australia would be today had that gone through?

So you need people with foresight like Mr Whitlam and Lionel Bowen to ensure we put acts into place that preserve those rights, preserve dignity and preserve an equal society that ensures everyone is treated fairly, which is in our Constitution. But you also have to insure against that ability of vilification to creep in. It could creep in slowly but gradually and then become a mass vilification, and we could have an entire upheaval of our society. So that's why this law from 50 years ago that we're discussing today is worth celebrating. And it's worth honouring, because it's laws like this that give the direction of the country. They change the country and benefit future generations, as we see today in our wonderful multicultural Australia that actually treats everyone fairly. We have good laws in place. Regardless of your religion, your ethnicity and your place of birth, we ensure that people are treated equally with the same opportunity and can have the same hopes for future that everyone has.

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