Dear Attorney General Brandis,

We fully condemn your plan as it only encourages racists to spread their wings further.

Yours respectfully,

President

Unity Party WA

info@unitywa.org

www.unitywa.org

http://unitywaorg.blogspot.com.au

http://twitter.com/unitypartywa

Phone/Fax: 61893681884

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UPWA is the only political party that calls a spade a spade.

Bolt's law: Jewish leaders condemn plans by Attorney-General George Brandis to change race hate laws following Andrew Bolt case

Date - November 15, 2013 - Jonathan Swan

Jewish leaders are preparing to fight the government's plans to weaken race hate laws, saying they could encourage persecution and racially-motivated violence.

The head of the Jewish national peak body, Peter Wertheim, is concerned that Attorney-General George Brandis wants to amend sections of the law that protect Jews and other minority groups against hate speech.

''We don't really know what's intended,'' said Mr Wertheim, the executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

''Obviously we're concerned about the tenor of the announcements and we do wish to consult with the Attorney-General.''

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Senator Brandis has signalled that, as his first legislative act, he wants to amend sections of the Racial Discrimination Act that make it unlawful to offend another person on grounds of race or ethnicity.

The Attorney-General has declared himself a champion of ''freedom'' and disparaged the laws used against Andrew Bolt over an article he wrote in which he accused ''white'' Australians of identifying as Aborigines to advance their careers.

Asked about the Jewish community's concerns, Senator Brandis promised he would consult with ''stakeholders and interested parties, including leaders of the Jewish community such as Mr Wertheim, before introducing the legislation to Parliament.''

Mr Wertheim has warned that the ''wholesale repeal'' of sections of the act would not only prevent vilified groups from defending their reputations legally, but would also encourage more sinister forms of hate speech. ''It would … open the door to the importation into Australia of the hatreds and violence of overseas conflicts,'' Mr Wertheim said.

Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said he had condemned Senator Brandis' plans ''from the moment he first opened his mouth''.

The laws were aimed at stopping ''extreme cases of hate speech,'' said Mr Dreyfus, whose great-grandparents died in the Holocaust and whose father and grandparents fled Nazi Germany for Australia.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bolts-law-jewish-leaders-condemn-plans-by-attorneygeneral-george-brandis-to-change-race-hate-laws-following-andrew-bolt-case-20131114-2xjpn.html#ixzz2kfdLome2