Cancel culture has become the law in Victoria. Not only are ‘hateful’ opinions, whatever that means, now unlawful, but under the new laws your right to freedom of speech will depend on what you look like.
The Allan government’s changes enshrine a two-tier system, where special rights are bestowed on some Victorians to silence others. Under the civil vilification provisions, Victorians who possess a protected characteristic will be empowered to punish others for speech they deem to be ‘hateful’ against them based on factors like their race or gender identity.
The laws also lower the threshold for prosecuting ‘serious vilification’, where those found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ against someone based on a protected characteristic, or threatening violence against them could face up to five years’ imprisonment.
Crucial to the passage of the laws was a last-minute ‘Sam Kerr clause’ demanded by the Greens. Now, police will be required to consider the ‘social, cultural, and historical circumstances’ surrounding instances of serious vilification before prosecuting.
Rather than all Victorians being equally bound by the law, the police will instead be required to enforce the law differently based on whether a person belongs to a certain identity group.
When Kerr, the Australian women’s soccer team captain, was accused of racially aggravated harassment after calling a police officer ‘f- stupid and white’, she denied that whiteness was an insult.
During proceedings, power and privilege in relation to race were discussed. Kerr was found not guilty, but not because of this absurd argument.
But that absurd defence is now the standard that will be mandated in Victoria.
This reverses the fundamental legal principle that justice is blind. Under the new laws, it now absolutely matters who you are, who your ancestors were, and where you fit on an imaginary hierarchy of power.
The new laws will do nothing more than further divide Victorians. They are predicated on a lie, namely, that power can only ever flow one way, and only certain people can legitimately be offended. The application of this by the courts of law will make the lie true. For example, it will be the case that only people of colour can ever experience racism, only women can ever be subject to sexist remarks, and only non-Christians experience religious hatred.
That the law is intended to be applied unfairly was acknowledged plainly by upper house MP Georgie Purcell. The Animal Justice representative noted the Kerr trial showed how ‘laws designed to prevent vilification and discrimination can be weaponised against their intended purpose’. In other words, vilification laws are only ever intended to protect some people.
In celebrating the passage of the laws, Premier Jacinta Allan has claimed Victorians were on a ‘unity ticket’ to protect Victorians from hate.
There is a pattern of behaviour here. Victorians will remember it was Allan, who as a Cabinet Minister, sat by as Black Lives Matter rallies were allowed to occur during Victoria’s lockdowns whereas those who demonstrated in opposition to lockdowns were shot with rubber bullets by Victoria Police.
Nor should it be forgotten that these changes have been gridlocked in state parliament for weeks over concerns from the state opposition and faith groups regarding the two-tiered nature of the law.
That the state government had to rely on a late-night dirty deal with The Greens and the Legalise Cannabis party shows the deception in any claim that these laws have broad support in the community.
While the Premier may claim she is on a ‘unity ticket’ with her two-tier laws, it will be Victorians who are divided.
Margaret Chambers is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
