There are many reasons why so many Australians are sad, angry, disappointed and worried because Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced he would break his election promise to repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Among other things, the legislation makes it unlawful to offend or insult a person on the basis of their "race, colour, or national, or ethnic origin."
Abbott made his promise to repeal section 18C in a speech in August 2012. He said that removing the section would restore freedom of speech in Australia.
He said: "Freedom of speech is an essential foundation of democracy". The PM has restated his promise to repeal section 18C on a number of occasions.
But last week during a press conference announcing new counter-terrorism laws, Abbott said his promise to restore freedom of speech in Australia was now a "complication" in his efforts to have ethnic communities co-operate with the government to help fight terrorism, and his promise was "off the table".
To say that many people, not the least some of Abbott's strongest supporters, were astounded by these comments is an understatement. Deep shock is a better description of how many people felt.
Three key conclusions can be drawn from what the Prime Minister said.
The first is that freedom of speech was something he was willing to sacrifice so ethnic community groups would support the government's counter-terrorism laws. (Within hours this negotiating strategy was proved to be flawed as ethnic community leaders came out and rejected the government's proposals.)
The second conclusion was that not only was the Prime Minister willing to negotiate on freedom of speech; he felt he had to seek the permission of ethnic community groups for his counter-terrorism legislation.
The third conclusion is perhaps the most significant. The Prime Minister said he believed repealing section 18C was a threat to "preserving national unity on the essentials".
"NATIONAL UNITY" AT ISSUE
In essence, what he admitted was his belief that "national unity" in Australia in 2014 is no longer the product of common and shared values across the community — instead "national unity" can now only be enforced by the government and its laws.
In this context, it's of almost secondary concern that when the repeal of section 18C was discussed at cabinet not a single minister spoke in favour of the government keeping its election promise.
The repeal of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act has been presented by many in the media and by quite a few Coalition MPs themselves as a "niche" issue only of concern to the conservative "base" of the Liberal Party, and to Andrew Bolt, who was taken to court under the legislation.
That analysis is fundamentally wrong.
FREE SPEECH MORE IMPORTANT: POLL
A poll commissioned in 2011 showed that 82 per cent of Australians believe the right to free speech is more important than legal protection against being offended.
It's one thing for the Canberra press gallery to dismiss freedom of speech as a niche issue, but few would ever have expected the Coalition cabinet to do the same thing.
If the Coalition can sacrifice freedom of speech so easily, there's nothing to stop, say, freedom of religion or the principle of equal education for girls and boys one day being treated in exactly the same way — as merely "niche" issues for the "base".
Media commentators welcomed the Prime Minister's abandonment of his promise to repeal section 18C as evidence he would be less "ideological" and would govern from the "centre" of Australian politics.
Abbott's decision last week reveals just how much the ideology of the Liberal Party has changed and just how far the "centre" of Australian politics has shifted.
In 1995, under John Howard, the Coalition opposed the introduction of section 18C into the Racial Discrimination Act.
Liberal senator Nick Minchin said in Parliament at the time, "Freedom of speech is a fundamental tenet of the philosophy of my party; that is liberalism."
Today, in 2014 under Tony Abbott, the Coalition believes freedom of speech is a threat to national unity.
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