<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/31/australia-charter-bill-of-rights>
"For decades, Labor governments have been waiting for a “catalysing political
trigger” to convince the opposition that there was a real and urgent need for a
comprehensive, codified Australian charter of rights as exists in all other
comparable nations.
It is a shame that the tragic event at Bondi last December has not yet become
that political trigger. The shock was palpable, public sentiment was high,
human rights had demonstrably been trashed, lives were lost and irrevocably
changed, the social fabric frayed.
Clearly something needed to be done to reinforce the rights and safety not just
of the Jewish community, but all Australians.
The immediate response to criminalise and punish was understandable – outlaw
hate speech, ban hate groups, prohibit demonstrations and phrases, make the
hatred of other human beings and their views go away by force of law and
ministerial decree.
This punitive response lies deep in the Australian psyche. No doubt it provides
a moment of comfort and reassurance that something can be done – visas revoked,
bad actors detained and outlawed, arrests made, charges laid, guns bought back.
But as UNSW law professor Luke McNamara wrote, “We need to moderate our
expectations on how much ever-expanding forms of criminalisation can deliver
the community safety and social cohesion to which we aspire. We must also
recognise both the harms that can be done by hastily widening the net cast by
the criminal law, and that there are often better ways of encouraging public
discourse that is both robust and respectful.”"
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
