Lisa Singh

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

936 ABC HOBART

WEDNESDAY, 31 AUGUST 2016

 

SUBJECT/S: Repealing Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act; working with the Tasmanian Labor Team

 

LEON COMPTON, PRESENTER:  Lisa Singh is the Labor Senator for Tasmania, Lisa good morning to you.

LISA SINGH, LABOR SENATOR FOR TASMANIA: Good morning Leon.

COMPTON: Is it hard to stay awake as you’re sitting in the senate?

SINGH: Not for me, but obviously everyone brings to the Senate different energy levels perhaps, maybe Derryn Hinch had as late night the night before, who knows?

COMPTON:  Is it concerning?

SINGH: Is it concerning that people fall asleep in the senate? Well look I think it happens in a number of chambers. I remember being in the state parliament, in the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the late Michael Hodgman occasionally fell asleep in the afternoons. I think that, you know, everyone has different levels of aptitude when it comes to the levels of their energy in the Senate. But look, you do need to be awake, you do need to be alert and the Governor General was giving the government the Prime Ministers address to the senate and it would’ve been good that everyone was awake for it that’s for sure.

COMPTON:  You gave a speech yesterday on the repeal of the 18C bill and we heard Stephen Parry suggest that he would support it given the chance. What did you say in your response?

SINGH: Well look Leon; this was the opening of Parliament. With the myriad of issues facing Tasmania right now, all but one of the Tasmanian Liberal Senators regarded that changing a law to allow racial hate speech to be their number one priority. I mean for goodness sake this is beyond any kind of understanding and if any Tasmanian is listening to your program this morning they’ll be thinking what kind of representation is that from Tasmanian Liberal senators - I do acknowledge that Senator Parry was not one of those - when they see fit to put their names to a motion to repeal Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act as their number one priority facing Tasmania? If you asked most Tasmanians on the street they would think why on earth are our Liberal Senators wanting to do that? A law that works perfectly fine, that has been in operation for some 20 years. And if you look at Tasmania it is a place with a thriving multi-cultural community. Our society and economy is enriched by growing international tourism, we have a huge number of international students at the University of Tasmania. All of that is in jeopardy with the liberal senators wanting to reintroduce racial hate speech.

COMPTON:  surely that is hyperbole senator. What is the risk in allowing great leniency in terms of what people can say in the public square in Australia in debating issues various?

SINGH: The risk is racial hatred Leon, the risk is racial hatred. And I say to Eric Abetz; what is it that he wants to say to someone of a different ethnic background that he cannot currently say under the existing act.

COMPTON:  If it’s the chains of law senator that are stopping us from saying things that are racial hateful, rather than what is in people’s hearts and people’s brains, surely we have a problem that is better debated in the open?

SINGH: Leon the Act as it currently stands does allow quite a long yardstick in that regard. There is section 18C and there is also section 18D which allows for that free speech that eric abetx tends to go on about. So that’s why the act works so well for 20 years. But when it does come to issues that do often lead, in effect, to racial violence, there does need to be a bar and that bar has been set. The courts in fact see that it’s not just about people getting their feelings hurt, they’ve said bar for breaches of this law is much higher than somebody just being offended when they apply the law. So it works very, very effectively. So you have to ask why it is that a bunch of white, liberal, male men want to change an act that allows racial hate speech. It is just beyond the pale, it is absurd. And I ask again, what is it that Eric Abetz and David Bushby want to say, and our new senator indeed, Senator Duniam want to say to our ethnic communities in Tasmania that they can’t currently say under our existing act.

COMPTON:  we know senator that you have significant problems between yourself and the other Labor senators for Tasmania. How are you managing that at the moment?

SINGH: I don’t have significant problems Leon. I am here, back in the senate, working with my Tasmanian Labor colleagues, indeed working with my new lower house members as well in Brian Mitchell, and Justine Keay and Ross Hart as well as Julie Collins. We are now a united team here in Canberra, we all move on and face the fact that pre selections come and go and they have gone and I’ve been re-elected thank you to the good will of the people of Tasmania. And I’ve got a job to do as do all of our Tasmanian Labor senators and members, and that is representing Tasmania; their needs, their interests. And one of their needs and interests I can tell you is not repealing 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act to allow racial hate speech in Tasmania.

COMPTON: Good to talk to you this morning.

SINGH: Thank you Leon. 

 

ENDS