Shadow justice minister in Australia calls in to open line show to speak on the Andrew Bolt guilty verdict

Below the more button, the complete transcript of this segment of the show. The whole show can be heard here but below, a segment I found quite interesting and ominous.

Time transcripts of Ozie senator for Bolta

[00:00:00.00]

[00:00:04.01] Senator George Brandis is the shadow Attorney General, Morning to you Senator

[00:00:08.03] Morning Steve, Morning Andrew.

[00:00:08.04] Morning Steve, Morning Andrew. How ridiculous that we are treading…

[00:00:12.05] so softly and gently on these things. Is the act the problem?

[00:00:16.07] Look, I think the act is the heart of the problem. These …

[00:00:20.09] provisions were put into the Racial Discrimination act in 1995 by the…

[00:00:24.10] Keating government. And I think yesterday, I’ve got a lot of sympathy for

[00:00:28.11] Andrew, yesterday was I think a very black day for freedom in..

[00:00:32.13] Australia because, what the federal court effectively did was it declared…

[00:00:36.15] what the opposition warned about 16 years ago…

[00:00:40.17] that provisions, like the provision under which

[00:00:44.19] the court made it’s finding yesterday would potentially…

[00:00:48.21] have a serious negative effect on freedom of expression

[00:00:52.23] in our country. Can you recall what the motivation was back then…

[00:00:56.24] 16 years ago for the Keating govt. to…

[00:01:00.26] loosen up that act, well, they wouldn’t call it loosen up, to toughen up the act..

[00:01:04.27] they would have said, but from our point of view, widen the areas that…

[00:01:08.29] can grief for yourself, why did it happen?

[00:01:12.31] Well Steve, I’m not sure I wasn’t in Parliament then, I imagine that we had…

[00:01:16.33] a lot of platitudes about the importance of

[00:01:20.35] avoiding racial discrimination whihc is something we all believe…

[00:01:24.37] in but I do know that the opposition

[00:01:28.39] at the time warned that there was another agenda here…

[00:01:32.41] driven by some, and that was to, basically declare

[00:01:36.44] that some opinions are not fit for expression…

[00:01:40.46] now I am profoundly hostile to that view.

[00:01:44.48] I think that in a free country, people have to be free to..

[00:01:48.50] express their opinions that…

[00:01:52.51] and this debate has been about freedom of speech in the last 24 hours or so…

[00:01:56.52] and even deeper than freedom of speech I think, is the risk of freedom of opinion

[00:02:00.54] and in a free country people are entitled to whatever opinion they damn well like.

[00:02:04.56] and say so, and if it offends or provokes other people I don’t think they should…

[00:02:08.58] be punished or cencured for it. It’s interesting that those…

[00:02:12.60] that were offended chose this course rather than…

[00:02:16.61] the more natural course of, taking Andrew on with the defamation laws.

[00:02:20.63] Well that’s because they weren’t defamed. And you know, there are certain limitations…

[00:02:24.65] on what people can say. Defamations…

[00:02:28.67] is an obvious case, incitement to violence is an obvious case,

[00:02:32.69] causing civil disorder is an obvious case.

[00:02:32.71] causing civil disorder is an obvious case. But our…

[00:02:36.73] approach in the Western system has always been,

[00:02:40.74] because we ragarded freedom of speech and freedom of opinion as being such precious…

[00:02:44.60] values, to confine as narrowly as posible,

[00:02:48.61] the inhibitions on, or the legal limitations on …

[00:02:52.63] freedom of speech. Now, my concern about the interpretation…

[00:02:58.04] the judge has given to section 18C of the racial discrimination act which, by the way,

[00:03:02.05] I don’t critisize the judge for, his interpretation…

[00:03:06.07] he is merely expounding what the law actually says…

[00:03:10.10] takes a very very intrusive view so that…

[00:03:14.11] rather than trying to narrow the

[00:03:18.13] circumstances in which we interfere with people’s freedom the effect of this section…

[00:03:22.15] as the court has interpreted it now, is to…

[00:03:26.17] expand the circumstances in which basically the government tells us…

[00:03:30.17] what we are allowed to say and think. are you looking at having a look at that act?

[00:03:34.19] Well, I certainly am. But let’s wait untill…

[00:03:38.20] the appeal process has run it’s course,

[00:03:42.22] it’s a matter for Andrew, and for the Herald and Weekly Times…

[00:03:46.23] in discussion with their lawyers to decide whether they appeal….

[00:03:50.24] I hope they do, and I hope they win. Because…

[00:03:54.26] I am very sad to think that the law of Australia is…

[00:03:58.28] that if you express an unpopular opinion, then…

[00:04:02.30] potentially you can be dragged before the court by somebody who is…

[00:04:06.32] a bit offended by that opinion. We pride ourselves…

[00:04:10.34] on being a robust democracy and you can’t have

[00:04:14.36] robust public discussion without people being offended.

[00:04:18.38] Earlier this year I wrote an opinion peice about multiculturalism and…

[00:04:22.40] Andrew wrote a blog which was quite scathing of me…

[00:04:26.41] (AB Oh Sorry) I didn’t mind I mean that’s what…

[00:04:30.43] that’s what freedom of expression is. George we are about to set a world record we’ve had…

[00:04:34.45] a 7 minute conversation and haven’t heard from Andrew I thought we were doing well! (I’m sorry George)

[00:04:38.47] it’s not that I’m not grateful to you, it’s not that I’m not nodding furiously,

[00:04:42.49] it’s just that you know, understand …

[00:04:46.51] it’s better me saying absolutley nothing and that’s what we’ve come to.

[00:04:50.53] Let me make this point to you. The fact that you do feel constrained…

[00:04:54.55] the fact that you are conciously biting your toungue…

[00:04:58.57] so as not to express opinions, when your role as a public…

[00:05:02.59] political comentator is to express opinions, just goes to…

[00:05:06.60] show how wicked this section is as the court has now explained it to us, is.

[00:05:10.62] and how disturbing it is. Can I say…

[00:05:14.64] this Steve. Can I reccomend that everyone of your listeners…

[00:05:18.66] find time today to go to their local bookstore, and buy a copy …

[00:05:22.68] of George Orwell’s novel, 1984…

[00:05:26.70] and if they haven’t read it, read it. and if they’ve read it years ago read it again and ask…

[00:05:30.72] themselves this question: How much closer to that dystopia…

[00:05:34.73] are we today as a result of yesterday.Well said Senator…

[00:05:38.75] thank you very much and I know Andrew, here is,

[00:05:42.77] thanking you as well for your appearance here this morning all though he can’t say it. Good on you…

[00:05:46.79] Good on you Steve and Andrew, all the best and I hope you do appeal, and I hope you win.

[00:05:50.80] George you are very kind. Thank you Senator George Brandis the shadow Attorney General

[00:05:54.83] of Australia and 1994 is the book you need.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

4 Replies to “Shadow justice minister in Australia calls in to open line show to speak on the Andrew Bolt guilty verdict”

  1. Know full well the first freedom directly attacked from stealth jihadist is the freedom of speech. Have we free people of the world forgotten the evil that was Hitler? Hitler was sucessful in gaining full control over the German people by suppressing any and all opposition thu propaganda, threats and of course murder. Once the masses were silenced it was easy for that madman to take full control of all of Germany. The jihadist know this and are going right for the jugular of freedom by first taking away freedom of speech. This right is all that important to us and to the jihadist as well. Once this is gone it leaves freedom naked and so very vulnerable. The free world needs to guarantee its’ purity and to guard it ever so intently so that freedom cannot die from those which hate everything that is free.

  2. Excellent …..Australia is waking up to the feeling of the political straightjacket tightening …..imposed by the leftists to close down any debate on multiculturalism.

  3. It’s unfortunate that Andrew Bolt has to go through this, however, someone of his stature in our community may be the only way of stimulating the momentum of removing, or at least modifying, these laws. We had the case of the two Christian pastors who faced the anti-vilification laws in regards to the wretched islam which caused a stir, but not enough. They were Christians so, unfortunately, the case is harder to make (though just as wrong) in our increasingly secular, anti-Christian world.

    Some solace for Bolt in that he stands in good company as shown throughout history (right now he won’t meet the same end as some of them)

  4. All hate speech laws are thought control laws, and as such must be resisted and removed from the books as fast as possible, without free speech you have no other freedom.