[LINK] Free speech in Australia

[Frank O'Connor]

A few rather obvious contentions for you:

1. We don't have a right of free speech in Australia.

2. We don't have a Bill of Rights that enshrines the right to free speech

3. We don't have any laws that enshrine free speech

4.We have defamation and other anti-free speech laws that are archaic 
suppressants of same

5. We have an implied right to free speech on political matters (as 
the High Court decided in the Theophanous case) ... and that is about 
the limit of it.

6. We have an ever expanding list of laws and regulations that 
impinge on our 'right' to free speech ... which we seem to 
enthusiastically adopt whenever our politicians mention the words 
'security' or 'national well being'.

In fact we have very very few 'rights' in this country ... and 
discussing same without realising it is pure naivete.

There is no right to privacy, right of association, right to creed, 
belief or whatever. There are no civil rights, workers rights, 
private property rights or whatever. These are privileges which the 
various governments of this country grant us (or take away when they 
deem it necessary) at their discretion.

And any time people are stupid enough to 'stick up for their rights' 
or espouse silly ideas like a 'Bill of Rights', politicians and their 
ilk (from both sides of the political continuum) automatically go 
into defensive mode and ridicule the notion. Civil libertarians 
occupy a place in the media of the country consistent with the 
'looney left' ... when in fact most of them are not inclined toward 
the left at all.

'States rights' and federal government rights are enshrined in our 
Constitution - and very little else. Read it and weep.

But don't get involved in debate about freedom of speech in 
Australia, or our supposed rights ... until we actually do have 
rights.

					Regards,