Liberal senator Cory Bernardi leads backbenchers in push to change race hate laws
SENATOR Cory Bernardi has gained the support of Coalition backbenchers in diluting racial discrimination laws — challenging the PM’s authority.
LIBERAL Senator Cory Bernardi has secured the support of nearly every Coalition backbench senator to change Australia’s racial discrimination laws — despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull indicating it’s not a priority.
In a move that will be viewed as a test of Mr Turnbull’s authority within the Coalition, Senator Bernardi will this week introduce a private members bill to remove the terms “insult” and offend” from the Racial Discrimination Act.
He has secured the support of every Liberal and National backbench senator except Jane Hume, the ABC reports.
But Senator Bernardi has brushed off questions about whether the bill weakened the authority of the Prime Minister.
“I’m moving on an issue that he actually supports and he’s given support for it when he was not the leader. He has given in principle support for it as the leader,” he told ABC TV.
“Our previous leader supports it as do an overwhelming majority of my backbench colleagues on the liberal side, the national side and believe it or not many in the ministerial ranks as well.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has repeatedly said changing Australia’s race-hate laws where not a priority, saying the Government was focused on budget repair instead.
Senator Bernardi said believed the Government should be able to “walk and chew gum at the same time”.
He the proposed changes to the Act were “absolutely consistent with Liberal Party philosophy”
“The Government is entitled to set its own priorities, but as am I for my constituency and that’s the Australian conservatives who want to see some reform in this space,” he said.
“And I am only here for three more days of this parliamentary year because I am going on secondment to the United Nations.
“It’s important to get it on the agenda now and we can then deal with it in the next three years.”
Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm has also been pushing for the terms “insult” and “offend” to be removed.
He told Sky News he wasn’t surprised so many Coalition senators had thrown their support behind Senator Bernardi’s Bill, saying there was “substantial support” for the amendment.
Senator Leyonhjelm has lodged a Human Rights complaint over Fairfax column which described him as an “angry white male”.
He claims the complaint is a test case.
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