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Articles on Racial Discrimination Act

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A federal Religious Discrimination Act would introduce important protections for Australia’s religiously diverse population. Shutterstock

Why Australia needs a Religious Discrimination Act

Australians already enjoy a relatively high level of religious freedom. However, discrimination and vilification on the basis of people’s faith still exists.
Racists take advantage of social media algorithms to find people with similar beliefs. from www.shutterstock.com

Here’s how Australia can act to target racist behaviour online

Racism thrives online because of a clash between the commercial goals and ethical responsibilities of social media companies. But Australia can take legal and civil actions right now to address this.
Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday contacted leaders of the Jewish, Indigenous and Muslim communities, seeking to reassure them. Sam Mooy/AAP

Conservatives have captured Turnbull for culture war crusade

Malcolm Turnbull is now, it seems, wholly owned by the conservatives in the Liberal Party and their strident media allies. His capitulation to them over 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act has been as…
There is concern among some Liberals that the 18C issue will lose them votes in seats with large ethnic communities. Sam Mooy/AAP

Section 18C change appears doomed in Senate

Malcolm Turnbull has announced a watering down of the controversial Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
The federal court dismissed claims brought under the Racial Discrimination Act against three Queensland University of Technology students under section 18C. AAP Image/Dan Peled

Change Section 18C? Critics should do this crash course first

The time is right for a crash course on section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, its exemptions and the powers of the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The car that was set ablaze outside Perth’s Thornlie Mosque. Offensive graffiti was also scrawled on a wall nearby. AAP

Can religious vilification laws protect religious freedoms?

Legislating against racial and religious vilification is highly fraught, as the ongoing debate around Section 18C has demonstrated, and unlikely to become less so any time soon.
Since the NT Intervention a large body of evidence has built up showing that income management does not achieve its stated goals. So why does it continue? AAP/Dean Lewins

A $147m budget saving missed: income management has failed

Various studies, culminating in the final evaluation report of income management in the Northern Territory, have found such programs don’t achieve the claimed benefits. Why did the budget extend them?
French comedian Dieudonné has just been charged as an ‘apologist for terrorism’ for his Facebook posting ‘Je me sens Charlie Coulibaly’ (I feel I am Charlie Coulibaly). EPA/Didier Jouret

Speech in France is not so free as Section 18C critics would have it

Recent commentary about the so-called “French” idea of free speech is fuelling confusion and misinformation in the debate about Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 in Australia. Human Rights…

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