Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is acting with total arrogance when it comes to the people who are most impacted by its ridiculous campaign against section 18C. This morning Labor hosted in Parliament House close to 100 representatives of multicultural communities from around Australia. They told us that there is real anxiety and fear in their communities about an increase in racial abuse thanks to this government. We heard from Senator Patrick Dodson, who spoke passionately about the cost of hurtful speech. 'Words matter,' he said. The people who were in that room this morning know about racial abuse because they have experienced it themselves.

Has the Prime Minister even bothered to speak to these people, the casualties in his battle against so-called free speech? Has he even bothered to contact the Jewish community in his own electorate of Wentworth? I would guess not, because I know what they would tell him. They do not support this crazy, ideological vendetta of the right-wing of the Liberal Party. The trouble with this Prime Minister is that he has a total lack of initiative on most things except the wrong things. It boggles the mind that he has chosen the last sitting week before the budget to alienate multicultural communities and the moderates in his own party. Wake up, Prime Minister! Drop your changes to section 18C. Do not weaken Australia's protections against racist hate speech which have served our country very well for more than 20 years. (Time expired)