Andrew Bolt ... Free speech goes down.
- Thread starter Theresa777
- Start date
Australia's constitution does not expressly mandate freedom of speech or assembly. It almost reads like it's been left out on purpose.
As long as we are a monarchy, freedom of speech will be supressed. I'm no republikan but there's no reason our constitution cannot be amended to expressly allow it, ala Canada.
A 1992 High Court ruling identified that the notion of free speech and assembly is "implied" withinn the constitution, but implicities can be challenged when push comes to shove.
If you are outraged by this, then write to your local MP and demand an amendment to the constitution.
If you are not upset by this, then carry on.
If you're going to whinge on a public forum but can't bothered writing an email to the same effect to your local MP, then put up or shut up.
As long as we are a monarchy, freedom of speech will be supressed. I'm no republikan but there's no reason our constitution cannot be amended to expressly allow it, ala Canada.
A 1992 High Court ruling identified that the notion of free speech and assembly is "implied" withinn the constitution, but implicities can be challenged when push comes to shove.
If you are outraged by this, then write to your local MP and demand an amendment to the constitution.
If you are not upset by this, then carry on.
If you're going to whinge on a public forum but can't bothered writing an email to the same effect to your local MP, then put up or shut up.
in a sea of recently ignorant posts on somersoft, this still finds its way floating at the top
gooing by your logic there is no difference in the way say chinese, japanese, indians, italians, south americans etc are raised culturaslly because all are raised in houses, going to school and eating meat and veg?
im actually a fan of some of your posts but you certainly can be puzzling at times
it breaks my heart to occasionally agree on some points more with evand than with others
i certainly am not advocating a politically correct society by the way, i cant stand PC
mate, if that breaks your heart, you need to do as ole Chopper says and harden the **** up. 
I'm not sure why you are puzzled?
I live near a rural town with an aboriginal name, and most of the other towns have aboriginal names. My property has an aboriginal name, as do half the mountains, rivers and roads around here. The headmaster at the primary school my kids attend is aboriginal and shes the best one we've ever had. I went to school with heaps of aboriginals, and played sport with them. I've been drunk and partied with them and went to my aboriginal mates 18th and 21st birthday parties, even once when one was at the mission. I can call them my friends. In fact I don't even think of them as being aboriginal.
I'm talking about white, or nearly white aboriginals. They do live like I do and I don't think there is any mysterious cultural thing going on. Truely. They are Australians, bought up as Australians for flip sake.
I'm not talking about aboriginals out at Wilcania or Alice Springs or Tennent Creek or somewhere like that where they are 50% or more aboriginal.
Chinese, japanese, indians, italians, south americans? What has that got to do with anything? These places are in a different part of the world? Of course their cultures are different.
See ya's.
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Bolt was extremely careless in choosing his target. His article proves the point that journalists have become careless in their research, as well as what they are reporting as truth or factual evidence.
I left home when I was 16 and had to live with two different friends and their parents while I did my HSC. I would get up at 5am to catch the first bus to City Extra (cafe) to study. They also had endless refill coffee for free!
There was a girl in my Year that was 1/8 Aboriginal. She came from a middle class family and definately a more affluent family than I came from. "M" would often brag how she would get some sort of "allowance" because of her heritage, and would go shopping to buy new clothes with it.
I will never forget her, only for this fact.
Although, I would not tar all "part" aboriginals with the same brush, I do think the system is being rorted. Finally and again, Bolt was a reckless idiot for his article.
Regards JO
Wrong, wrong and wrong again. I suggest you look up "culture" in the dictionary.
Regards JO
I agree - when growing up in NZ, people who were 1/4 Maori (one Maori grandparent), regardless of their financial background, would get very generous scholarship and allowances for university ... while the rest either had to sit rigourous scholarship exams or work in any odd job we could find to pay their way through.
To me this is racism and discrimination as it perpetuates both ill feeling towards those getting the free ride, and singles them out as different.
Loved his hissy fit outside the court.
His poor research (lies), on this case is not isolated...it taints much of his opinion pieces like a dog turd going off in a sauna.
What he has done is not a reflection about 'free speech'-far closer to stupidity.
http://twitter.com/#!/andrewbolt
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His poor research (lies), on this case is not isolated...it taints much of his opinion pieces like a dog turd going off in a sauna.
What he has done is not a reflection about 'free speech'-far closer to stupidity.
http://twitter.com/#!/andrewbolt
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A lot of this boils down to communicating using facts and objective discussion, rather than falling into the trap of using emotive triggers. I don't think people have a problem discussing almost anything, provided it's done in a sensible manner. It comes down to playing the ball rather than the man.
I have no doubt that there are some people who misuse Aboriginality for personal gain. But unless we can get down to cases and back up assertions with facts and reasoned debate, we're aren't going to get toward meaningful solutions.
FWIW, I went to school with a lot of Aboriginal kids. There were some who were good, some who are complete knobs, and some who you never noticed. It wasn't apparent to me whether they were getting special treatment, but maybe that's just the naivety of youth.
I have no doubt that there are some people who misuse Aboriginality for personal gain. But unless we can get down to cases and back up assertions with facts and reasoned debate, we're aren't going to get toward meaningful solutions.
FWIW, I went to school with a lot of Aboriginal kids. There were some who were good, some who are complete knobs, and some who you never noticed. It wasn't apparent to me whether they were getting special treatment, but maybe that's just the naivety of youth.
Judge Bromberg.... sound s a bit Jewish...what do you reckon a progrom is in order Dazz?
Now if we can just find the trade unionists, gypsies and other social undesirables then can get this thing going.
If only we had a good rail infrastructure
Objective discussion and debating facts...nicely put...I hope we stick to it.
Not naivety, probably more the fact that your parents were paying for you and you didn't have to pay board and pay for your own clothes, books and excursions. I daresay, every other student around me can remember what beautiful hair she had, more than her shopping sprees provided by the Government.
Regards JO
True, a common sense test is more appropriate. Too much legal jargon and rules. Common sense people
Larissa Behrendt may claim she was brought up an Aboriginal, but she was quick to put it all behind her at a young age.
I think full blood Aboriginal Bess Price sums up Larissa Behrendt best in the story below.
And Bess is at least still in there living Aboriginal culture and doing what's best for Aboriginals and their culture on the ground.....while Larissa swans around in white man's world. Larissa in her comfy urban Sydney digs thinks it's ok to tell bush Aboriginals what's best for them. Obviously Larissa has a very broad view on what being brought up Aboriginal and 'Aboriginal culture' mean, and think it is ok to patronize and belittle people like Bess.
Bolt may have got some of his facts wrong, but the implication is spot on, as Bess Price affirms. Let's see dill Judge Bromberg rule Bess Price guilty of racial discrimination, or should that be Larissa Behrendt?
"HIGH-profile indigenous lawyer Larissa Behrendt is under fire after using her Twitter account to describe watching bestiality on television as "less offensive than Bess Price", an Aboriginal woman in favour of the radical Northern Territory intervention.
Professor Behrendt made the comments after watching Ms Price on the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.
Writing in response to comments from Rhianna Patrick, a presenter of ABC local radio indigenous program Speaking Out, she tweeted: "I watched a show where a guy had sex with a horse and I'm sure it was less offensive than Bess Price."
Ms Price has been vocal about the high levels of violence in central Australian indigenous communities and supported the Northern Territory intervention, angering left-leaning indigenous leaders who consider her a traitor.
Speaking from Darwin, Ms Price told The Australian yesterday she was appalled by the comment. She accused Professor Behrendt, an Australian of the Year finalist, of trying to silence her because of her different views.
"I'm going to seek legal advice," she said. "This is worse than what she is accusing Andrew Bolt of."
News Limited columnist Bolt has spent the past fortnight in court fighting accusations that he vilified a group of nine Aborigines, including Professor Behrendt, on the basis of their race.
Ms Price said the comment showed how out of touch the indigenous academic was with central Australian Aborigines."I want what she has for my children," she said.
"The white blackfellas should be happy about the lifestyle they have. They should help us rather than trying to put a barrier between us and what we should be saying. Who does she think she is? I'm very angry about that. How dare she have a go about me without talking to me or confronting me face to face if she has a problem with me. They think that they can control us, that I shouldn't be commenting or having an opinion on indigenous issues.
"And the likes of her and others don't know anything about our people in the bush. Who are they to stand up and talk on behalf of our people. My background is totally different to hers, we are culturally different."
In an email sent to a network of people, Ms Price's husband Dave Price, writes: "It's people like her who control the message, going to organisations like the UN and Amnesty International. Can the Race Discrimination Act protect people like Bess from this sort of obscene vilification or does she get away with it because she identifies?"
Coalition indigenous affairs spokesman Nigel Scullion said he was appalled by the tweet.
"What do you say to a comment like that? It is just outrageous. She needs to apologise. This is about vilifying people who don't agree with you. It's about marginalising people and this is emblematic of the sort of behaviour that discourages people from speaking out."
The Twitter feed on the night contained many comments criticising Ms Price because of her support for the intervention, which was expressed on Q&A.
Professor Behrendt was also responding to a comment by Paddy Gibson, an Aboriginal rights activist who is co-editor of Solidarity magazine and a researcher with Jumbunna indigenous centre at the University of Technology, Sydney.
He accused Ms Price and her husband of making a profit from the Northern Territory Emergency Response. "Ha! Being offensive pays. BessP and her white husband make a $packet$ doing 'cultural awareness' for NTER," he tweeted.
Mr Gibson said: "It was fairly common knowledge . . . that they were offering cultural awareness training to government officials during the period of the intervention.
"I received a number of calls by people who were outraged and distressed by her comments on Q&A that night.
Ms Price and her husband are partners with Jajirdi Consultants, which provides cross-cultural training, community liaison and Warlpiri language services.
"We've been doing that a long time, before the intervention came along," Ms Price said.
"If I was making lots of money I would be living the high life."
Ms Price said during the intervention she did some interpreting and training for the government but it was far from profiteering.
"Larissa Behrendt has made money out of being a blackfella and she isn't even in dire straits like other blackfellas who need funding," she said.
I think full blood Aboriginal Bess Price sums up Larissa Behrendt best in the story below.
And Bess is at least still in there living Aboriginal culture and doing what's best for Aboriginals and their culture on the ground.....while Larissa swans around in white man's world. Larissa in her comfy urban Sydney digs thinks it's ok to tell bush Aboriginals what's best for them. Obviously Larissa has a very broad view on what being brought up Aboriginal and 'Aboriginal culture' mean, and think it is ok to patronize and belittle people like Bess.
Bolt may have got some of his facts wrong, but the implication is spot on, as Bess Price affirms. Let's see dill Judge Bromberg rule Bess Price guilty of racial discrimination, or should that be Larissa Behrendt?
"HIGH-profile indigenous lawyer Larissa Behrendt is under fire after using her Twitter account to describe watching bestiality on television as "less offensive than Bess Price", an Aboriginal woman in favour of the radical Northern Territory intervention.
Professor Behrendt made the comments after watching Ms Price on the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.
Writing in response to comments from Rhianna Patrick, a presenter of ABC local radio indigenous program Speaking Out, she tweeted: "I watched a show where a guy had sex with a horse and I'm sure it was less offensive than Bess Price."
Ms Price has been vocal about the high levels of violence in central Australian indigenous communities and supported the Northern Territory intervention, angering left-leaning indigenous leaders who consider her a traitor.
Speaking from Darwin, Ms Price told The Australian yesterday she was appalled by the comment. She accused Professor Behrendt, an Australian of the Year finalist, of trying to silence her because of her different views.
"I'm going to seek legal advice," she said. "This is worse than what she is accusing Andrew Bolt of."
News Limited columnist Bolt has spent the past fortnight in court fighting accusations that he vilified a group of nine Aborigines, including Professor Behrendt, on the basis of their race.
Ms Price said the comment showed how out of touch the indigenous academic was with central Australian Aborigines."I want what she has for my children," she said.
"The white blackfellas should be happy about the lifestyle they have. They should help us rather than trying to put a barrier between us and what we should be saying. Who does she think she is? I'm very angry about that. How dare she have a go about me without talking to me or confronting me face to face if she has a problem with me. They think that they can control us, that I shouldn't be commenting or having an opinion on indigenous issues.
"And the likes of her and others don't know anything about our people in the bush. Who are they to stand up and talk on behalf of our people. My background is totally different to hers, we are culturally different."
In an email sent to a network of people, Ms Price's husband Dave Price, writes: "It's people like her who control the message, going to organisations like the UN and Amnesty International. Can the Race Discrimination Act protect people like Bess from this sort of obscene vilification or does she get away with it because she identifies?"
Coalition indigenous affairs spokesman Nigel Scullion said he was appalled by the tweet.
"What do you say to a comment like that? It is just outrageous. She needs to apologise. This is about vilifying people who don't agree with you. It's about marginalising people and this is emblematic of the sort of behaviour that discourages people from speaking out."
The Twitter feed on the night contained many comments criticising Ms Price because of her support for the intervention, which was expressed on Q&A.
Professor Behrendt was also responding to a comment by Paddy Gibson, an Aboriginal rights activist who is co-editor of Solidarity magazine and a researcher with Jumbunna indigenous centre at the University of Technology, Sydney.
He accused Ms Price and her husband of making a profit from the Northern Territory Emergency Response. "Ha! Being offensive pays. BessP and her white husband make a $packet$ doing 'cultural awareness' for NTER," he tweeted.
Mr Gibson said: "It was fairly common knowledge . . . that they were offering cultural awareness training to government officials during the period of the intervention.
"I received a number of calls by people who were outraged and distressed by her comments on Q&A that night.
Ms Price and her husband are partners with Jajirdi Consultants, which provides cross-cultural training, community liaison and Warlpiri language services.
"We've been doing that a long time, before the intervention came along," Ms Price said.
"If I was making lots of money I would be living the high life."
Ms Price said during the intervention she did some interpreting and training for the government but it was far from profiteering.
"Larissa Behrendt has made money out of being a blackfella and she isn't even in dire straits like other blackfellas who need funding," she said.
go mention the word "coconut" in Kunners or Kathy and see what response you get.
Yep, black on the outside and white on the inside. In most of Sydney it has a different meaning.
And i dont see the relevance of 2 aboriginal woman having a tiff. Big deal.
And i dont see the relevance of 2 aboriginal woman having a tiff. Big deal.
Glad you agree Aboriginals (even 1/8) are immune from breaching the Racial Discrimination Act. Justice Bromberg and you can celebrate over a chardonnay.
i guess it's no different to 9 people of aboriginal descent and a journalist having a tiff.
We can't say anything that upsets anyone now?
Well, we can only hope that this latest injustice will act as a stimulus for Australians to get their own 'Freedom of Speech' legislation passed, can't we.
Oops, I hope I didn't upset anyone by saying that!
There are sectors of the community (and the same exists in the USA) who need to move forward, and remove the chip form their shoulders, get a sense of humour...whatever.
The constant whining and indignation that they spew forth does their cause no good.
Everyone just goes...sigh.
And ignores them.
Yeah; we all have bad luck, yeah; life is unfair.
Whadda they gunna do about it? not much but continue to bleat.
How about breaking free from the rest, get a life, get some motivation to succeed and set an example for their colleagues and families?
Too hard.
I've been following Andrew Bolt for about 20 years. He says it like it is.
Good on ya, Andrew; don't let this small obstacle stop you.
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I don't reckon Andrew would care.
He'd just laugh and keep arguing with whoever it was.
He's a big boy, and able to take a knock on the chin - unlike others.
I must admit; he was very quiet outside the Court yesterday - I reckon he is furious at the double standard, but can't mention it or get into trouble again.
Totally pathetic state of affairs.
What everyone forgets with AB is that he is from a recently immigrated family himself - he is not yer "Robert Menzies white Australian" by any stretch.
He is as appalled with these factional sooky lala groups as any 10th generation Aussie.
Hey; I'm about 10 gens into it; can I get some Gubb support?
