Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I noticed at the weekend a number of our football clubs once again speaking out against racial vilification, defending their players, their colleagues, from attacks based on race from members in the crowd. It is a very, very good thing to see. On the weekend I attended a Walk for Respect in Lakemba where literally hundreds of people did the same thing. They walked through the streets of Lakemba, trying to show the government that racial vilification is not acceptable and that 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act should stay exactly as it is.

We stand up for our colleagues and our neighbours and other family members in a range of ways. Sometimes we stand up for them because we were there when an incident happens, but we also do it through our laws. For the last 20 years we have protected our neighbours and our families and our colleagues from racial vilification through section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

I thank everybody in my community and beyond who got to their feet and walked, or who took the time to make submissions, or spoke to their neighbours, or wrote to the minister, or said to anybody that 18C is incredibly important because our citizens should be able to live free of racial abuse. I thank them all and I urge the government to pay attention. It is not acceptable and the community is speaking incredibly loudly in support of 18C.