Monday, April 15, 2013

And the Real Agenda Is...?

This will be my fourth post on this subject.*

Let me be clear:

If NSW Premier Baruch O'Farrell declared for the very first time, at an Israel Independence Day function in April 2012, that a certain piece of legislation needed revamping, but later told a nosy journalist that the inspiration for said revamp came as a response to an instance of Muslim youth allegedly behaving badly in September 2012, then you'd probably be wondering what the real agenda behind the revamp was, right?

Here's the latest skerrick of information on the subject to filter down to us:

"A NSW parliamentary inquiry has been told that strengthening laws to make it easier to convict people for serious racism could restrict the democratic right to free speech. Current anti-discrimination laws have failed to result in any successful prosecutions since they were introduced in 1989, despite more than 27 public complaints about alleged breaches. Premier Barry O'Farrell launched an inquiry last year to examine whether the laws are too restrictive and should be broadened beyond the focus on physical harm. Simon Breheny, from the Institute of Public Affairs, said the law was appropriate, however it should not be expanded to catch any form of conduct less than specific threats of physical violence." (Sydney Morning Herald, 9/4/13)

[*See my posts Where's This All Going? (14/1/13); A Matter of Motive (27/1/13) and Not So Fast, Baruch O'Farrell (29/1/13)]

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