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Australian courts decision to ban Cronulla riot anniversary rally hailed as a triumph of protecting the right of citizens not to be offended over and above freedom of speech
Two courts have made separate rulings to prevent a far-right group from holding a rally in Sydney to mark 10 years since the Cronulla riots.The New South Wales Supreme Court has banned Party for Freedom chairman Nicholas Folkes from holding the "memorial" event at Cronulla on Saturday on the grounds it would stir up racial hatred. Separately, the Federal Court has ruled in favour of an application to prevent any other groups or individuals from commemorating the anniversary. This weekend marks a decade since the racially-motivated violence that erupted in the Sydney suburb in 2005. In the Supreme Court today, the judge ruled the holding of the public assembly was prohibited. Sydney GP and Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi and the Sutherland Shire Council together applied for the Federal Court ruling. Dr Rifi said the group's right to freedom of speech "should not impinge on our rights as citizens". "They have every right to express their view but their right is not absolute," he said. "We also have a right as a citizen of this country not to be insulted, not to be humiliated and not to be intimidated." Australia has NO constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. We are becoming less free by the day. Hizb ut=Tahrir is able to hold rallies celebrating the murder of charlie hebdo cartoonists but these people cannot have their hate rally. I do not approve of either group -- but freedom of speech is important especially for views you do not like. And selectively applying it will only result in a terrible society Posted by: anon1 2015-12-11 |
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