Australian Politics
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Explicitly racist abuse not deemed illegal in Australia
The campaigner who successfully pushed to get Coon cheese renamed has had his racism complaint terminated despite receiving an abusive email saying he had an “ugly black face”.
The hate mail, sent to Aboriginal anti-racism activist Dr Stephan Hagan by Don Harris on January 14, said he was “part of the world’s dumbest race” and “a broken, conquered people”.
Harris referred to a “miserable black existence” and “absolute inferiority to the white man”, concluding with “May the Aryan man rule forever” and attaching further white supremacist quotes.
Dr Hagan said the email had caused him and his wife “considerable distress”, adding that he felt “violated and fear for my safety and that of my family all because I dared to challenge the status quo of a racial slur used on a popular cheese brand.”
However, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Monday told Dr Hagan that it had decided to terminate the complaint without inquiry.
“I am satisfied that it is misconceived and/or lacking in substance,” said the response to the complaint from Jodie Ball, the Commission president’s delegate.
She said she understood Dr Hagan would be “disappointed” by the decision but that he had “not sufficiently explained” which human right had been violated or how that right had been impaired.
“I acknowledge that you found the content of the email offensive and upsetting and that due to prior experiences where you say you were abused and threatened, the email made you feel concerned about you and your family’s safety,” wrote Ms Ball.
But she said that the incident did not meet the threshold to qualify as racial hatred under the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) because it did not take place in public.
“It is arguable that the email that is the subject of your complaint is an act done because of your race, colour or national or ethnic origin and that it would be reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a reasonable person of your race, colour or national or ethnic origin,” said Ms Ball. “However, from the information provided to date, the email does not meet the requirement in the law that it is an act done ‘otherwise than in private’.”
She said the email was sent directly to Dr Hagan via email, and that while he claimed the information was now in the public domain after news outlets covered the Commission’s original response, “it appears that this is because you spoke publicly about the email that you received, rather than because the writer of the email caused the words and image to be communicated to the public.”
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The ABC declares there is 'NO such thing as free speech in Australia' as it defends censoring comments left on a story about a transgender swimmer
Saying "nasty" things about transgenders blew their committment to free speech out of the water
The ABC has boldly declared 'there is no such thing as free speech in Australia' after banning users during a heated discussion about a transgender swimmer on the national broadcaster's Facebook page.
The strident declaration about free speech came after some users were kicked off the page over alleged transphobic and sexist comments.
A page moderator had earlier urged users to be constructive, not nasty, when commenting about an article about a transgender swimmer.
In the article, swimmer Cassy Judy said she became a target for 'hurtful' comments after McIver's Ladies Baths, in Coogee, banned pre-surgery trans women.
'I feel like it's given license to some people to come out and say things that are quite hurtful to trans women like myself or gender nonbinary people,' she told the ABC.
'Things like ... 'You are what's between your legs'.'
'For me, [the baths] was a place where I went before surgery just to feel accepted and included as a woman.'
An initial moderator post in the article thread asked people to avoid being 'nasty' in response to the article and warned that the page 'will not tolerate any transphobic or sexist commentary'.
'We will be hiding comments and banning users without further notice if you breach our terms'.
It posted a link to the terms, which under the heading 'ABC Online Communities' said it encourages 'rigorous debate and the sharing of diverse opinions' but 'expects community members to treat each other with respect and courtesy'.
The conditions also reserve the right to 'edit, remove or exercise its discretion not to publish' comments if deemed to 'violate laws regarding harassment, discrimination, racial vilification, privacy or contempt' or to be 'abusive, offensive or obscene; inappropriate, off topic, repetitive or vexatious'.
Later on Thursday, the page moderator stated: 'We have deleted and banned users as per ABC's Terms of Use' and again provided the link.
From there, the moderator's message became notably more strident, stating: 'FYI - There is no such thing as free speech in Australia.'
'Hate speech or transphobic comments will not be tolerated regardless if it's your opinion.'
'If it is your opinion than perhaps you need to educate yourself on equality, empathy and equity.'
The moderator challenged people to make a formal complaint - providing a link - 'If you're 'upset' about your harmful comments being removed and 'your taxpayer dollars'.'
The comments left in the discussion were heated, but appeared to be evenly balanced - some supportive of Ms Judy's statements and view, and some opposed.
Free speech in public forums is complex and depends on the context, however the Australian Human Rights Commission states: 'The Australian Constitution does not explicitly protect freedom of expression.'
Freedom of expression in media is generally accepted, but in a major international statement, is understood to be balanced by responsibility to show 'respect of the rights or reputations of others.'
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to the ABC and to the author of the original article, Monique Schafter, for comment.
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Education Dept run by Leftist union
Tracy Tully caused uproar recently when she gave an interview to The Sunday Mail’s Stephanie Bennett, speaking out about a toxic culture of bullying and favouritism in the Queensland education department.
Tully also told Bennett the powerful Queensland Teachers’ Union was a Labor puppet.
Tully said she and others were heckled for not openly advocating for the Labor Party, and at a public meeting was told in front of witnesses to sit down and shut up.
Tracy doesn’t know Woodridge manual arts teacher, David Frarricciardi, but their stories of union wrongdoing are strikingly similar.
Last year on this page Frarricciardi told how he quit the QTU because he was tired of its relentless promotion of ALP candidates and causes.
Tully claims QTU members were pressured to distribute Labor Party material in the lead-up to state elections, and that principals who refused to go on strike were harassed.
She told me teachers in marginal seats were transferred if they did not co-operate with pro-Labor campaigns.
“They ousted a principal who would not support the Labor Party,” she said.
“They wanted me to distribute Labor Party pamphlets and I refused.’’
She believes the cosy relationship between the QTU and the education department fosters intimidation and corruption.
She has made a complaint to the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Like Frarricciardi, Tully said she was a swinging voter who has never been a member of a political party.
She resented it when the union started throwing its weight around and deliberately trying to undermine her authority.
She recalls a hostile meeting where a group of unionists arrived to tell her to change the curriculum.
“They came into my office and shut the door and started to tell me what to do.
“It was highly unprofessional, and I told them so. I sent them packing. I said, don’t dare come and here and try to stand over me. I told them the union does not run the school, the principal does.
“The union wouldn’t know how to run a school. I said, ‘Next time make an appointment and we can discuss it’.”
She has an unpleasant memory of her days in Charleville in 2011 when she disobeyed an order by a bureaucrat not to close the school as flood waters rose. “When the water got up to my knees I knew it was time to get out,’’ she said.
Police friends told her she had done the right thing, but the department sent two Ethical Standards Unit men to investigate her.
In her memoir FEARless (Ultimate World Publishing), she says she felt bullied. “The guys acted like police officers serving a summons,” she said.
Tully said she stood her ground and dismissed “wild” allegations against her and other teachers.
“They threw a giant toddler tantrum, raising their voices and slamming their hands on the table, then stormed out of the interview room,” she wrote.
“Welcome to the Queensland education department’s investigative process.”
The tape-recorded meeting was an attempt to “shame me” and “break me”, she said. It didn’t.
Tully, 60, from Charleville and Toowoomba, said several teachers suffering anxiety due to bullying had contacted her after she blew the whistle in the Sunday Mail.
Chris Neville at Condon Charles Lawyers in Toowoomba has been engaged by them to start a class action.
Tully, who was described by a colleague as a voice for the voiceless, says wrongdoing festers behind the scenes because teachers are prevented from speaking out by the Public Service Act.
The Act strips teachers and principals of their basic human rights, she said.
The department was “a secret world where those who step out of line were harassed by narcissist bureaucrats”.
“You can’t defend yourself. They allow anyone to make an allegation without a signed statutory declaration and without evidence. It’s a free for all.’’
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A crazed African driver purposefully sped towards pedestrians in a road rage row, pinning a terrified woman against a wall
An investigation is underway following the hit-and-run crash that left a woman injured in Sydney’s west.
At 6.30pm on Saturday, emergency services were called to Penelope Lucas Lane near Virginia Lane, Rosehill, after reports a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle.
Police have been told a man and woman were involved in an argument with an unknown man who was driving a Skoda Octavia.
The unknown man then allegedly drove the vehicle at the pedestrians, pinning the woman against a wall.
The unknown man reversed and fled the scene in the vehicle.
The 41-year-old woman was treated at the scene for a severe lower leg injury, before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition.
The 37-year-old man suffered a minor foot injury and did not require hospitalisation.
Officers from Cumberland Police Area Command attended, and detectives commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
An extensive search of the area and surrounds was conducted, and the vehicle was located on Crown Street, Harris Park a short time later.
The driver had fled the scene prior to police arrival.
The man is described as being of African appearance, with short curly hair, wearing a red basketball jersey and shorts.
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http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE TIED)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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