At last some attempt at the Federal level is to be made to create effective and cohesive anti-discrimination laws. Much discussed in the last two years, the Attorney General has this week released draft legislation consolidating the five separate pieces of Federal anti-discrimination legislation into a single Act to be called Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Act.
Although the law is yet to be introduced into Parliament, consultation closed earlier this year and the draft bill will cover issues and problems like:
- Defining the levels of protections to the highest current standard, to resolve gaps and inconsistencies without diminishing protections.
- Clearer and more efficient laws provide greater flexibility in their operation, with no substantial change in practical outcome.
- Enhancing protections where the benefits outweigh any regulatory impact.
- Voluntary measures that business can take to assist their understanding of obligations and reduce occurrences of discrimination.
- A streamlined complaints process, to make it more efficient to resolve disputes that do arise.
This new legislation is aimed at a unified response to discrimination across Australia.
Already debate from some of the more predictable quarters has attacked the proposed law as an example of the Labor government attacking free speech. These glib critics refer to the Bolt Case and continue to argue that someone who attacks a persons race in forums where the people he attacks have no equal chance to respond or reply is exercising free speech. And they might be right if you equate "unfettered speech" and "free speech" but they are not the same. Free speech is a democratic right that comes with the responsibility not to have it abused unlike unfettered speech which has no rules and creates a jungle of abuse and innuendo without redress or defense.
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