… AND BLOCK MOVE TO WEAKEN HATE SPEECH LAW
INQUIRY WOULD GIVE A VOICE TO MINORITIES IMPACTED BY PROPOSAL
Tasmanian gay rights advocates have called on the state Upper House to veto the State Government’s attempt to weaken Tasmania’s “gold-standard” laws against offensive and hateful speech in the wake of the Senate voting down an equivalent push by the Federal Government.
The Senate has blocked amendments that sought to weaken protections under section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said,
“The Senate has stood up for the stigmatised and vulnerable groups in the community and I urge the Legislative Council to follow it’s example by protecting Tasmania’s gold-standard hate-speech laws.”
“The choice before the Upper House couldn’t be starker: the inclusive, plural society Tasmania has become under the Anti-Discrimination Act, or a return to an island society divided by hate.”
The Tasmanian Government is seeking to weaken provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act against offensive and hateful speech by allowing such speech if it has a religious purpose.
Mr Croome said,
“The proposal gives religious people special rights and privileges, something which is antithetical to the Tasmanian ethos of equality under the law.”
“The very least the Upper House should do is conduct an inquiry into the Government’s proposal given there has been no proper consultation and given the wide range of minorities that are potentially affected including religious minorities, sexual and gender minorities and people with disabilities.”
The Upper House is expected to debate the Government’s proposal next week.
Rodney Croome, Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group
