Gina Rinehart's adoration of the SAS runs in the family
Roberts-Smith lost his claim in 2023 and his first appeal in May this year. His final chance to fetch his helmet is getting an audience in the nation's top court, for which he's retained barrister Arthur Moses, who certainly doesn't come cheap. For the first tilt at the defamation claim, Seven West media mogul (and Victoria Cross collector) Kerry Stokes was covering Roberts-Smith's legal bills. For his efforts, he was ordered to also pay the newspapers' costs. But for the appeal and this final push, there's even deeper pockets rumoured to be involved.
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The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Preacher's anti-Jewish sermons put racism in spotlight
Increasingly racist rhetoric and contentious issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have galvanised a surge in racial discrimination cases not expected to ease anytime soon. The increase reflects a rise in public racism in Australia, according to prominent lawyer Michael Bradley. "People have felt a lot more free than they have for a long time to be racist in public and so that requires a response," he said. Mr Bradley acted for Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi during her successful legal fight against fellow senator Pauline Hanson, who told her to "piss off back to Pakistan" in a racist social media post. He believes the dispute was a "turning point" for racial discrimination cases because it provided a "fresh understanding" of the outer limits of acceptable speech. The decision helped inform the Federal Court's ruling on Tuesday against Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who called Jewish people "vile" and "treacherous" in a series of sermons. Justice Angus Stewart found the speeches contained "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and made "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. He ordered they be removed from social media and directed Mr Haddad not to publicly repeat similar statements. The judge's conclusion that criticism of Israel or Zionist ideology is not inherently anti-Semitic was of particular interest to Mr Bradley. "It's an important point given a lot of the campaigning activity going on against people who speak out against Israel's actions or for the Palestinian people," he remarked. "Hopefully it will provide a bit of guidance for other cases or disputes that are brewing." He will be acting in one such case, recently filed against two University of Sydney academics accused of anti-Semitism. Constitutional law expert Murray Wesson agreed the "very difficult boundary" between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism was not fully resolved in the ruling against Mr Haddad. "It's going to be an ongoing matter for discussion," the University of Western Australia associate professor said. The section of the Racial Discrimination Act that prohibits offensive behaviour on the basis of race or ethnicity can be a "lightning rod" for contentious issues. "People tend to talk about the issues of the day and then you're likely to have people who will take that speech a little bit further, or much further," Assoc Prof Wesson said. He predicted more challenges under section 18C, which may have a higher profile due to political controversy. In 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis infamously declared people had "a right to be bigots" amid a later abandoned push to repeal the section. The provision largely lay dormant until "a bit of a flood" of recent discrimination cases, Mr Bradley said. "When a piece of law like this becomes trendy, there's always a risk that it's going to be overdone. "The way the courts have to date interpreted it, it does strike an appropriate balance and one that conforms to constitutional limitations (regarding freedom of speech)." But Assoc Prof Wesson suggested the language could be amended to clarify the threshold for harm is much higher than merely insulting or offending someone. Although the disputes surrounding section 18C appear to have subsided, he suspects there may be further controversy in its future. Increasingly racist rhetoric and contentious issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have galvanised a surge in racial discrimination cases not expected to ease anytime soon. The increase reflects a rise in public racism in Australia, according to prominent lawyer Michael Bradley. "People have felt a lot more free than they have for a long time to be racist in public and so that requires a response," he said. Mr Bradley acted for Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi during her successful legal fight against fellow senator Pauline Hanson, who told her to "piss off back to Pakistan" in a racist social media post. He believes the dispute was a "turning point" for racial discrimination cases because it provided a "fresh understanding" of the outer limits of acceptable speech. The decision helped inform the Federal Court's ruling on Tuesday against Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who called Jewish people "vile" and "treacherous" in a series of sermons. Justice Angus Stewart found the speeches contained "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and made "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. He ordered they be removed from social media and directed Mr Haddad not to publicly repeat similar statements. The judge's conclusion that criticism of Israel or Zionist ideology is not inherently anti-Semitic was of particular interest to Mr Bradley. "It's an important point given a lot of the campaigning activity going on against people who speak out against Israel's actions or for the Palestinian people," he remarked. "Hopefully it will provide a bit of guidance for other cases or disputes that are brewing." He will be acting in one such case, recently filed against two University of Sydney academics accused of anti-Semitism. Constitutional law expert Murray Wesson agreed the "very difficult boundary" between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism was not fully resolved in the ruling against Mr Haddad. "It's going to be an ongoing matter for discussion," the University of Western Australia associate professor said. The section of the Racial Discrimination Act that prohibits offensive behaviour on the basis of race or ethnicity can be a "lightning rod" for contentious issues. "People tend to talk about the issues of the day and then you're likely to have people who will take that speech a little bit further, or much further," Assoc Prof Wesson said. He predicted more challenges under section 18C, which may have a higher profile due to political controversy. In 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis infamously declared people had "a right to be bigots" amid a later abandoned push to repeal the section. The provision largely lay dormant until "a bit of a flood" of recent discrimination cases, Mr Bradley said. "When a piece of law like this becomes trendy, there's always a risk that it's going to be overdone. "The way the courts have to date interpreted it, it does strike an appropriate balance and one that conforms to constitutional limitations (regarding freedom of speech)." But Assoc Prof Wesson suggested the language could be amended to clarify the threshold for harm is much higher than merely insulting or offending someone. Although the disputes surrounding section 18C appear to have subsided, he suspects there may be further controversy in its future. Increasingly racist rhetoric and contentious issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have galvanised a surge in racial discrimination cases not expected to ease anytime soon. The increase reflects a rise in public racism in Australia, according to prominent lawyer Michael Bradley. "People have felt a lot more free than they have for a long time to be racist in public and so that requires a response," he said. Mr Bradley acted for Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi during her successful legal fight against fellow senator Pauline Hanson, who told her to "piss off back to Pakistan" in a racist social media post. He believes the dispute was a "turning point" for racial discrimination cases because it provided a "fresh understanding" of the outer limits of acceptable speech. The decision helped inform the Federal Court's ruling on Tuesday against Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who called Jewish people "vile" and "treacherous" in a series of sermons. Justice Angus Stewart found the speeches contained "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and made "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. He ordered they be removed from social media and directed Mr Haddad not to publicly repeat similar statements. The judge's conclusion that criticism of Israel or Zionist ideology is not inherently anti-Semitic was of particular interest to Mr Bradley. "It's an important point given a lot of the campaigning activity going on against people who speak out against Israel's actions or for the Palestinian people," he remarked. "Hopefully it will provide a bit of guidance for other cases or disputes that are brewing." He will be acting in one such case, recently filed against two University of Sydney academics accused of anti-Semitism. Constitutional law expert Murray Wesson agreed the "very difficult boundary" between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism was not fully resolved in the ruling against Mr Haddad. "It's going to be an ongoing matter for discussion," the University of Western Australia associate professor said. The section of the Racial Discrimination Act that prohibits offensive behaviour on the basis of race or ethnicity can be a "lightning rod" for contentious issues. "People tend to talk about the issues of the day and then you're likely to have people who will take that speech a little bit further, or much further," Assoc Prof Wesson said. He predicted more challenges under section 18C, which may have a higher profile due to political controversy. In 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis infamously declared people had "a right to be bigots" amid a later abandoned push to repeal the section. The provision largely lay dormant until "a bit of a flood" of recent discrimination cases, Mr Bradley said. "When a piece of law like this becomes trendy, there's always a risk that it's going to be overdone. "The way the courts have to date interpreted it, it does strike an appropriate balance and one that conforms to constitutional limitations (regarding freedom of speech)." But Assoc Prof Wesson suggested the language could be amended to clarify the threshold for harm is much higher than merely insulting or offending someone. Although the disputes surrounding section 18C appear to have subsided, he suspects there may be further controversy in its future. Increasingly racist rhetoric and contentious issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have galvanised a surge in racial discrimination cases not expected to ease anytime soon. The increase reflects a rise in public racism in Australia, according to prominent lawyer Michael Bradley. "People have felt a lot more free than they have for a long time to be racist in public and so that requires a response," he said. Mr Bradley acted for Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi during her successful legal fight against fellow senator Pauline Hanson, who told her to "piss off back to Pakistan" in a racist social media post. He believes the dispute was a "turning point" for racial discrimination cases because it provided a "fresh understanding" of the outer limits of acceptable speech. The decision helped inform the Federal Court's ruling on Tuesday against Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who called Jewish people "vile" and "treacherous" in a series of sermons. Justice Angus Stewart found the speeches contained "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and made "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. He ordered they be removed from social media and directed Mr Haddad not to publicly repeat similar statements. The judge's conclusion that criticism of Israel or Zionist ideology is not inherently anti-Semitic was of particular interest to Mr Bradley. "It's an important point given a lot of the campaigning activity going on against people who speak out against Israel's actions or for the Palestinian people," he remarked. "Hopefully it will provide a bit of guidance for other cases or disputes that are brewing." He will be acting in one such case, recently filed against two University of Sydney academics accused of anti-Semitism. Constitutional law expert Murray Wesson agreed the "very difficult boundary" between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism was not fully resolved in the ruling against Mr Haddad. "It's going to be an ongoing matter for discussion," the University of Western Australia associate professor said. The section of the Racial Discrimination Act that prohibits offensive behaviour on the basis of race or ethnicity can be a "lightning rod" for contentious issues. "People tend to talk about the issues of the day and then you're likely to have people who will take that speech a little bit further, or much further," Assoc Prof Wesson said. He predicted more challenges under section 18C, which may have a higher profile due to political controversy. In 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis infamously declared people had "a right to be bigots" amid a later abandoned push to repeal the section. The provision largely lay dormant until "a bit of a flood" of recent discrimination cases, Mr Bradley said. "When a piece of law like this becomes trendy, there's always a risk that it's going to be overdone. "The way the courts have to date interpreted it, it does strike an appropriate balance and one that conforms to constitutional limitations (regarding freedom of speech)." But Assoc Prof Wesson suggested the language could be amended to clarify the threshold for harm is much higher than merely insulting or offending someone. Although the disputes surrounding section 18C appear to have subsided, he suspects there may be further controversy in its future.


Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Preacher's anti-Jewish sermons put racism in spotlight
Increasingly racist rhetoric and contentious issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have galvanised a surge in racial discrimination cases not expected to ease anytime soon. The increase reflects a rise in public racism in Australia, according to prominent lawyer Michael Bradley. "People have felt a lot more free than they have for a long time to be racist in public and so that requires a response," he said. Mr Bradley acted for Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi during her successful legal fight against fellow senator Pauline Hanson, who told her to "piss off back to Pakistan" in a racist social media post. He believes the dispute was a "turning point" for racial discrimination cases because it provided a "fresh understanding" of the outer limits of acceptable speech. The decision helped inform the Federal Court's ruling on Tuesday against Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who called Jewish people "vile" and "treacherous" in a series of sermons. Justice Angus Stewart found the speeches contained "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and made "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. He ordered they be removed from social media and directed Mr Haddad not to publicly repeat similar statements. The judge's conclusion that criticism of Israel or Zionist ideology is not inherently anti-Semitic was of particular interest to Mr Bradley. "It's an important point given a lot of the campaigning activity going on against people who speak out against Israel's actions or for the Palestinian people," he remarked. "Hopefully it will provide a bit of guidance for other cases or disputes that are brewing." He will be acting in one such case, recently filed against two University of Sydney academics accused of anti-Semitism. Constitutional law expert Murray Wesson agreed the "very difficult boundary" between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism was not fully resolved in the ruling against Mr Haddad. "It's going to be an ongoing matter for discussion," the University of Western Australia associate professor said. The section of the Racial Discrimination Act that prohibits offensive behaviour on the basis of race or ethnicity can be a "lightning rod" for contentious issues. "People tend to talk about the issues of the day and then you're likely to have people who will take that speech a little bit further, or much further," Assoc Prof Wesson said. He predicted more challenges under section 18C, which may have a higher profile due to political controversy. In 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis infamously declared people had "a right to be bigots" amid a later abandoned push to repeal the section. The provision largely lay dormant until "a bit of a flood" of recent discrimination cases, Mr Bradley said. "When a piece of law like this becomes trendy, there's always a risk that it's going to be overdone. "The way the courts have to date interpreted it, it does strike an appropriate balance and one that conforms to constitutional limitations (regarding freedom of speech)." But Assoc Prof Wesson suggested the language could be amended to clarify the threshold for harm is much higher than merely insulting or offending someone. Although the disputes surrounding section 18C appear to have subsided, he suspects there may be further controversy in its future.


West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Michelle Grattan: Free speech fight reignites as sparks fly in Australian politics
Political and news cycles often work in a certain and predictable way. Issues flare like bushfires, then rage for weeks or even months, until they are finally extinguished by action or fade by being overtaken by the next big thing. On two very different fronts this week, we're reminded how these cycles work. Last term, the Opposition constantly hammered the Government over its handling of the former immigration detainees released after the High Court found they couldn't be held indefinitely. These included people who had committed murder, child sex offences and violent assaults. On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke admitted in a Sky interview that the legislation the Government passed to re-detain some of these people was, in effect, impossible to use. Burke's comments attracted only limited attention. The other reminder of an old story came when the Federal Court ordered a militant Muslim preacher to remove inflammatory lectures from the internet. He had lost a case brought by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry under Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. More than a decade ago, political passions ran high in conservative circles about the alleged evils of 18C. First, to the Burke admission. Burke said he had 'a lot of resources' dedicated to trying to get applications to court for preventative detention orders. But 'no one has come close to reaching the threshold that is in that legislation.' For a long time, the Government had kept saying it was working up cases to put to the court. But, realising the difficulty, it also passed legislation facilitating the deportation of these people to third countries. There are now three former detainees due to be deported to Nauru, following a financial agreement with that country. But there's a hitch: their deportations are tied up in court appeals. (They can however be held in detention while the cases proceed.) The challenge still presented by the former detainees is no small matter, despite the political storm having calmed and the media interest dissipating. According to the Home Affairs department, 300 people had been released as at the end of February. Of these, 104 had offended since release, and 30 were incarcerated. Some 83 had only a State or Territory criminal charge; seven only a Migration Act charge; 14 people had both a Migration Act charge and a State or Territory charge. In recent weeks, one former detainee is alleged to have murdered a photographer in Melbourne. The political context can be very relevant to whether the embers of an old issue re-spark into something major. Anthony Albanese's decision last year to put Burke into home affairs was something of a political masterstroke. If Clare O'Neil and Andrew Giles had still been in their former respective portfolios of home affairs and immigration, the present failure to deal more successfully with the former detainees would have been a much bigger issue. Burke is skilled at throwing a blanket over contentious areas. On the other side of politics, James Paterson was moved out of home affairs in Sussan Ley's reshuffle. Paterson pursued the former immigration detainees relentlessly. The new spokesmen, Andrew Hastie (home affairs) and Paul Scarr (immigration) haven't hit their strides yet. The Government would have been under more pressure on the issue if Parliament were sitting. But the new Parliament doesn't meet until July 22. When it does, one of the new arrivals will be a former face, Liberal MP Tim Wilson. Way back when, Wilson was a player in the story of 18C. For him, the way 18C resurfaced this week contains more than a little irony. In February 2014, Wilson took up his post of Human Rights Commissioner, appointed by the Abbott government with the special brief of promoting freedom of speech. That government was strongly opposed to 18C, which made it unlawful to 'offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate' a person or group because of their race or ethnicity. The assault on 18C ran into vigorous opposition from ethnic and other groups, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Eventually PM Abbott retreated. A disappointed Wilson tweeted: 'Disturbed to hear the government has backed down on 18c and will keep offensive speech illegal. Very disturbed.' In his 2025 bid for election, Wilson — who had been member for Goldstein in 2016-2022 — was helped by the Jewish vote, after the rise of anti-Semitism. The debate about free speech has moved on a great deal since the Abbott government days, when conservatives were particularly agitated about 18C following a court judgement against journalist Andrew Bolt, who'd disparaged some fair-skinned Indigenous people. Today's debate is in the context of 'hate speech' associated with the Middle East conflict. Hate-crime laws have provoked another fierce round of controversy about the appropriate limits to put on 'free speech.' The Executive Council of Australian Jewry brought its case under the 18C civil law against preacher William Haddad, from Western Sydney, after no action was taken by the authorities under the criminal law. In lectures, Haddad made highly derogatory comments about Jews. Finding against Haddad, Judge Angus Stewart said the lectures 'were reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate and intimidate Jews in Australia.' Reflecting on the decision, George Brandis — who was attorney-general during the 18C furore — says, 'My view hasn't changed. It should not in a free country be either criminally or civilly actionable to say something that merely offends. However, in this case the conduct went far beyond mere offence, to intimidation. It did not require 18C to get the redress that was sought in the case.' Wilson doesn't wish to re-enter the debate. The new Opposition industrial relations spokesman says his focus is 'my portfolio responsibilities'. It's likely many of those who fought 18C years ago hold to their original view, while having to applaud the judgement made under it this week. That's another irony.