Latest news with #Marie-ClareBoothby
Otago Daily Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Proposed law change protects questionable pub jokes
Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under an Australian territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when the previous Labor government revised them in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as "offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing," Ms Boothby said. "We want something that's more serious than that. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others on the new laws. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said. The estimates hearing was told the office of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had a budget cut for 2025/26 of $269,000 to $1.65 million. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam told the hearing his office received up to 300 complaints a year but only had two complaints officers amid a large backlog of cases. He said only three of 46 vilification complaints this financial year had been accepted in relation to race, religious belief, gender identity and disability. Complaints were assessed as to whether they were trivial, vexatious or had no grounds, while those that proceeded were subject to a high-threshold objective standard of assessment, Mr Yogaratnam said. "So things like your jokes at the pub would not amount to vilification in the context of the way in which we assess it. "Clearly if that joke is one that incites hatred in relation to one of the 24 protected attributes like race, gender identity, disability, then that would be something we would need to consider." Any other version of the NT's vilification provision "would be watering it down" because it was the strongest vilification law in Australia, he said.
The Advertiser
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Proposed law change protects questionable pub jokes
Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under a territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when the previous Labor government revised them in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as "offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing," Ms Boothby said. "We want something that's more serious than that. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others on the new laws. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said. The estimates hearing was told the office of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had a budget cut for 2025/26 of $269,000 to $1.65 million. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam told the hearing his office received up to 300 complaints a year but only had two complaints officers amid a large backlog of cases. He said only three of 46 vilification complaints this financial year had been accepted in relation to race, religious belief, gender identity and disability. Complaints were assessed as to whether they were trivial, vexatious or had no grounds, while those that proceeded were subject to a high-threshold objective standard of assessment, Mr Yogaratnam said. "So things like your jokes at the pub would not amount to vilification in the context of the way in which we assess it. "Clearly if that joke is one that incites hatred in relation to one of the 24 protected attributes like race, gender identity, disability, then that would be something we would need to consider." Any other version of the NT's vilification provision "would be watering it down" because it was the strongest vilification law in Australia, he said. Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under a territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when the previous Labor government revised them in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as "offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing," Ms Boothby said. "We want something that's more serious than that. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others on the new laws. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said. The estimates hearing was told the office of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had a budget cut for 2025/26 of $269,000 to $1.65 million. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam told the hearing his office received up to 300 complaints a year but only had two complaints officers amid a large backlog of cases. He said only three of 46 vilification complaints this financial year had been accepted in relation to race, religious belief, gender identity and disability. Complaints were assessed as to whether they were trivial, vexatious or had no grounds, while those that proceeded were subject to a high-threshold objective standard of assessment, Mr Yogaratnam said. "So things like your jokes at the pub would not amount to vilification in the context of the way in which we assess it. "Clearly if that joke is one that incites hatred in relation to one of the 24 protected attributes like race, gender identity, disability, then that would be something we would need to consider." Any other version of the NT's vilification provision "would be watering it down" because it was the strongest vilification law in Australia, he said. Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under a territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when the previous Labor government revised them in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as "offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing," Ms Boothby said. "We want something that's more serious than that. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others on the new laws. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said. The estimates hearing was told the office of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had a budget cut for 2025/26 of $269,000 to $1.65 million. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam told the hearing his office received up to 300 complaints a year but only had two complaints officers amid a large backlog of cases. He said only three of 46 vilification complaints this financial year had been accepted in relation to race, religious belief, gender identity and disability. Complaints were assessed as to whether they were trivial, vexatious or had no grounds, while those that proceeded were subject to a high-threshold objective standard of assessment, Mr Yogaratnam said. "So things like your jokes at the pub would not amount to vilification in the context of the way in which we assess it. "Clearly if that joke is one that incites hatred in relation to one of the 24 protected attributes like race, gender identity, disability, then that would be something we would need to consider." Any other version of the NT's vilification provision "would be watering it down" because it was the strongest vilification law in Australia, he said. Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under a territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when the previous Labor government revised them in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as "offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing," Ms Boothby said. "We want something that's more serious than that. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others on the new laws. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said. The estimates hearing was told the office of the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had a budget cut for 2025/26 of $269,000 to $1.65 million. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam told the hearing his office received up to 300 complaints a year but only had two complaints officers amid a large backlog of cases. He said only three of 46 vilification complaints this financial year had been accepted in relation to race, religious belief, gender identity and disability. Complaints were assessed as to whether they were trivial, vexatious or had no grounds, while those that proceeded were subject to a high-threshold objective standard of assessment, Mr Yogaratnam said. "So things like your jokes at the pub would not amount to vilification in the context of the way in which we assess it. "Clearly if that joke is one that incites hatred in relation to one of the 24 protected attributes like race, gender identity, disability, then that would be something we would need to consider." Any other version of the NT's vilification provision "would be watering it down" because it was the strongest vilification law in Australia, he said.
Perth Now
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Questionable pub jokes protected in proposed law change
Telling a questionable joke at a pub will not land people before an anti-discrimination complaints hearing under a territory's proposed new laws. Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July. At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them. Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when revised by the previous Labor government in 2022. The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as '"offend" and "insult". They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more. "It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said. "Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community." The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender. Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said. "It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing, we want something that's more serious than that," Ms Boothby said. "We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates." It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said. The government consulted on the new laws with religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI+ groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others. The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said.
The Advertiser
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Can-do boat crews make a splash at Beer Can Regatta
Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year. Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews. The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time. An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming. Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights". "Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said. "It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down." The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized. Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons. NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun. Funds raised at the event go to local community groups. Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year. Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews. The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time. An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming. Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights". "Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said. "It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down." The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized. Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons. NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun. Funds raised at the event go to local community groups. Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year. Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews. The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time. An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming. Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights". "Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said. "It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down." The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized. Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons. NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun. Funds raised at the event go to local community groups. Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year. Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews. The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time. An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming. Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights". "Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said. "It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down." The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized. Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons. NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun. Funds raised at the event go to local community groups.
West Australian
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Can-do boat crews make a splash at Beer Can Regatta
Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year. Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews. The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time. An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming. Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights". "Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said. "It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down." The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized. Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons. NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun. Funds raised at the event go to local community groups.
