No new laws, says Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson

May 13, 2014 by J-Wire Staff
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As an independent statutory officer, Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson will use a wide-ranging speech to the Sydney Institute to articulate his agenda, declaring: “I do not want to introduce a new human rights law during my term of office. Instead, I want to strengthen the non-legislative defence of human rights.”

Tim Wilson

Tim Wilson

Commissioner Wilson will also use his Sydney Institute speech to argue that freedom of association, freedom of religion, freedom of expression and property rights are “forgotten freedoms” that have been compromised by laws and government intervention.

“The most immediate forgotten freedom that needs to be defended is freedom of expression, or as we commonly refer to it, free speech,” Commissioner Wilson will say.

The Commissioner will argue that enquiries such as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, as well an Australian Law Reform Commission report into multiculturalism and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s report into racist violence did not support the Racial Discrimination Act in its current form.

“The assumed conclusion is that these inquiries argued for the introduction of these laws. The reverse is true,” Commissioner Wilson will say.

“There is no dispute about the importance of tackling racism.

“The debate is about the extent that we use law to achieve that objective. Non-legislative measures such as codes of conduct are more effective and avoid the imposition of censorship.

“I want to strengthen this non-legislative defence of human rights. To that end, my first step is to organise a symposium on free speech later this year.

“My objective is to bring together the key interests in academia, civil society, the legal community and business to put all free speech issues on the table and build a new alliance of the need for free speech reform.

“In the second half of the year I will commence a national consultation on human rights issues in Australia, with a particular interest on ‘the forgotten freedoms’.

“I’ll be getting outside of the Melbourne-Sydney-Canberra triangle, and getting to the suburbs and rural and regional communities to understand the human rights concerns in these communities.”

Comments

One Response to “No new laws, says Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson”
  1. Otto Waldmann says:

    With the mistaken conceit driving his forked tongue, Tim Wilson has just articulated the most unpalatable hedonist perfumed nonsensical rant anyone with a worthless official/officious “rank” could deliver.
    Apart from a raft of contradictions uttered as if from the belly of a half baked adolescent mind, the ludicrous self-importance Tim is giving his office is bound to run into a number of walls of realistic laughter.
    So, NO new laws !!!! as if Timmo could introduce or stop ANY laws !!!

    Then, the bipolar assumption that pillars of democracy may be undermined by ideological agendas already clearly flagged by his political sponsored, i.e. the reactionary/nationalistic/monoculturalist Liberal Party self declared BIGOTS.
    Freedoms as known by all of us, most definitely NOT from Tim Wilson’s intellectual assistance with the notions’ meanings, as some of us have became aware of the terms some time before he was born, are not the domain of his RE-articulation. The kind of freedoms he would promote in his flagged campaigns ( I would like to be in those rooms where he would attempt to lecture us !!!) are non negotiable, for the type of negotiations Tim Wilson has in mind is precisely the abolition of essential freedoms in favour of the reintroduction of some of the already redundant “good ol’ ” White Australia mentality.

    Can’t wait to see the new shining star being properly waxed by those of us who have seen and heard the type far too many times to fall for their uber-confident cudos !! Just bring it on, mate……

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