Peter Garrett MP
Member for Kingsford Smith
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts

Despite an absence of government voices Labor members welcomed the opportunity to finally address in Parliament the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) report, Fighting Words - A review of Sedition Laws in Australia; a report which once again hangs the Attorney-General out to dry.

Mr Ruddock is completely isolated on this issue and he has failed to adequately address the recommendations of the ALRC report, which include removing the term 'sedition' from the criminal code.

Numerous concerns raised by the arts community regarding the right to freedom of expression were supported by the ALRC which recommended "a bright line between freedom of expression - even when exercised in a challenging or unpopular manner - and the reach of the criminal law".

The ALRC recommendations are the latest repudiation of Mr Ruddock's ill-conceived plan which saw the ramming through of sedition laws late last year.

A year ago I released a legal opinion on the likely impact of the sedition clauses in the government's Anti-Terrorism Bill on freedom of creative expression. The advice stated that, "Australians involved in the artistic and creative fields are particularly vulnerable to the risk of prosecution under the regime to be introduced by this Bill."

Further, a bi-partisan report from the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee tabled in November 2005 recommended sedition "be removed from the Bill in its entirety".

The report from the ALRC provides additional support for this view.