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Further implications
At the time of writing, the draft amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act were approximately half way through the consultation period set by the Attorney General. However, Senator Brandis has stated that he does not intend to attempt to hurry the amendments through parliament without adequate community discussion.
At least two members of the Government have indicated that they would be prepared to cross the floor to oppose the amendments if any attempt were made to pass them into law in their current form. One of these critics from within the Liberal Party is Reid MP, Craig Laundy. Mr Laundy's concerns centre on the impact the changes would have on the current provisions of section 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act.
The changes to section 18D would dramatically expand the type of racially pejorative comments that could be disseminated in any medium so long as these comments were made as part of 'public discussion of any political, social, cultural, religious, artistic, academic or scientific matter.' The amendment removes the requirement that such comments be made 'reasonably' and 'in good faith'. Critics are concerned that the changes to section 18D effectively mean that anyone can say anything, so long as it is part of 'public discussion'. There are no longer any moderating provisions seeking to guarantee that comments are not malicious, manipulative or otherwise ill-intentioned.
Craig Laundy has stated, 'I am...fearful that where somebody is violently abused purely on the basis of the colour of their skin or their ethnic background, and this occurs during the course of a public debate, such abuse will be exempt from the act.'
The capacity for racist comments to be proliferated widely on the Internet as part of 'public discussion', with no moderating influence of law, has many social commentators, and some members of the Liberal Party, extremely concerned.
The fate of the legislation is currently unclear. It will be opposed by both Labor and the Greens, while there is the possibility that some Liberals might cross the floor rather than support it. It would not pass through the current Senate and Senator Brandis may hold off presenting it there until the composition of the Senate changes on July 1.
The proposed amendments do not appear to have found favour within the wider community. The Fairfax-Nielsen poll published on April 14, 2014, specifically asked voters if they believed it should it be lawful or unlawful to 'offend, insult or humiliate' somebody based on their race.
88 per cent of those surveyed indicated that they did not favour the proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act and that they believed it should remain unlawful to discriminate.
Craig Laundy has stated that in the face of such extensive public rejection, he does not believe the present draft proposal to amend the Racial Discrimination Act will be presented before Parliament in its current form.