Protect us from venom, says Pat Dodson

THE father of reconciliation, Patrick Dodson, has objected to proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.

THE father of reconciliation, Patrick Dodson, has objected to proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, urging the federal government to keep the “modest protections” against “foul racial abuse”.

Federal cabinet will soon consider a final recommendation for controversial changes to section 18C of the legislation, in a move Attorney-General George Brandis says will prevent censorship of opinions on race.

However, Mr Dodson — delivering the Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration in Adelaide last night — said being the target of racial hatred was not a trivial matter. “Every Australian who has known the experience of seeing or reading another human being’s racist venom directed towards you — based on the colour of your skin or the ancestry you have — we know the damage it inflicts on us and, most heartbreakingly, on our children and grandchildren.

“It can make us ill and sap our confidence. It drives us out of places and spaces where we have every right to learn and earn and live our lives like any other Australian.” The current law was necessary because it sent a signal that “some modest recourse” was available to those targeted by “foul racial abuse or hatred”.

“Keeping such modest protections is part of the greater national project of reconciliation, of helping us to live alongside one another with respect, with more cohesion and with empathy and humanity,” Mr Dodson said.

In an interview with The Australian last week, Senator Brandis indicated his final recommendation to cabinet might take into consideration criticism directed at the draft changes, which flagged removing provisions to impose a civil liability on offensive, insulting and humiliating racial speech.

“A racist gibe is not an expression of opinion,” he said. “The incitement of racial violence is not an expression of an opinion. The use of threatening language that might intimidate is not an expression of opinion.”

Mr Dodson’s address coincided with the 47th anniversary of the 1967 referendum on indigenous rights.

He spoke of the continuing importance of the push for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, after serving as co-chairman of the Gillard government’s expert panel on the issue.