The Constitution’s external affairs power does not support Section 18C. And the section also impermissibly infringes the implied freedom of political communication.
Controversial arguments and ideas should be listened to and open to public scrutiny. Only then can we expose those ideas found wanting and lacking any credibility.
The cover of the ‘Weekly Standard’, February 2016.
Two recent controversial cartoons depicting people as apes have raised an important question: what are the legal and philosophical distinctions between harm and offence?
A photograph from The Sabbat Cycle’s Austin stop, where a screening of ‘The Witch’ was held, followed by a satanic ritual.
The Satantic Temple
The Moroccan state’s case against a leading academic could have far reaching ramifications for academic freedom and research at the country’s universities.
#WeStandWithMizzou activists join the movement.
Jackie Rehwald, Springfield News Leader
Ten years after the Danish cartoon crisis, it’s time to discuss how freedom of religion and freedom of speech can coexist.
Students protest at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University demanding the right to be taught in English rather than Afrikaans, which they identify with apartheid.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
The university should be the bastion of the right to free expression in the promotion of democracy, and has a moral and ethical obligation to provide spaces for fierce debate and critical engagement.
King Mswati III, centre, with his regiments at Ludzidzini royal palace during the annual Reed Dance in August. Swaziland ranks among the worst in Africa for its level of democracy.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Satisfaction with democracy varies widely in Africa. Across 28 countries, only 46% of citizens say they are “very satisfied” or “fairly satisfied” with the way democracy works in their countries.
Hulk Hogan is likely hoping the Florida jury is full of people who understand what it feels like to be him.
Reuters
Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker for $100 million in a case that not only could bankrupt the media empire known for its gossip but could erode the First Amendment as well.
Joe Hockey’s successful defamation case against Fairfax Media raises questions about the extent to which politicians should be able to sue in relation to publications about their public conduct.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
Hockey v Fairfax illustrates that recent legal and technological developments still pose challenges for defamation law, which has not been reformed to keep pace with these changes.
Picking a fight with a media company should not be a politician’s priority.
AAP/Nikki Short
The elephant in the room in the just-concluded defamation case between Joe Hockey and Fairfax Media was the actual story being attacked. Media organisations ought to be able to instigate the debate without fear of reprisals by litigious politicians.
In Tony Abbott’s worldview, it seems, a person’s freedom of speech depends whose side they are on.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
In all the politicking and government attacks on the ABC for giving a platform to former terror suspect Zaky Mallah, the free speech debate has become confused.