PM says race-hate law changes 'gone'
Tony Abbott has faced a furious backlash from within conservative ranks after dumping plans to dilute race-hate laws, but insists the proposed changes that would have given Australians "a right to be bigots" will not be resurrected.
The decision to abandon plans to repeal parts of the Racial Discrimination Act has been welcomed by ethnic groups but slammed by critics of the laws, including conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, who was personally briefed by the prime minister an hour before Tuesday's announcement.
Mr Abbott had promised the News Corp columnist before the 2013 election he would repeal section 18C of the act, which makes it illegal to offend, insult or humiliate a person based on their ethnicity.
But on Wednesday, Mr Abbott insisted the plan was dead.
"It's off the table - it is gone. It's disappeared," Mr Abbott said.
Mr Bolt, who ran foul of the act in 2011, had already voiced his anger on radio, accusing the Abbott government of asking Australians to "assimilate to immigrant values".
He said the decision foreshadowed a "dangerous" time for Australia and that the justification for the backflip was an "excuse rather than a reason".
Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson said it was "incredibly disappointing" and that Mr Abbott had missed an opportunity to reclaim freedom of speech rights.
The news, however, was applauded by Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane.
"I still see no good or compelling reason to be changing laws that have been in place for 20 years which have worked well, which have enjoyed widespread support and which reflect our society's commitment to racial tolerance," he said.
The chief of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, said Australians had made it clear they did not want a society where bigotry and racial hatred were acceptable in the public discourse.
"People came together in thousands, organisations came together, in a very strong collective voice and made it very clear that laws to protect the diversity which makes this country great are essential," Mr Alhadeff said.
The head of the Arab Council of Australia, Randa Kattan, also welcomed the decision but criticised Mr Abbott for confirming the repeal plan had been dropped as he also announced new laws aimed at combating home-grown terrorism.
"On one hand he's saying `we recognise that these (laws) have been problematic and the community has made it clear that they're against the laws but at the same time let's point the finger at particular communities, let's point the finger and play into the prejudices against Arabs and Muslims'," Ms Kattan said.
"These two (issues) are totally separate and should be discussed separately."
The comments came as Attorney-General George Brandis, the architect of the repeal plan, on Wednesday defended his remarks to the Senate in March when he said Australians "have a right to be bigots".
"What I said was correct, what I said made the point forcefully," Senator Brandis said.
