Fiona Patten’s proposed changes to Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act further threaten free speech and open the gate for more dangerous and costly lawsuits. The added attributes, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics further divide families, particularly where some members of the family hold a biological view of sexual reality. For instance, a child who subscribes strictly to biological identity may be deeply offended by a sibling or parent’s insistence on multiple genders. Please make your vote count to stop this deeply divisive and reckless Racial and Religious Tolerance Amendment Bill.

Fiona Patten’s proposed changes to Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act further threaten free speech and open the gate for more dangerous and costly lawsuits. Previous cases of offence under the Act, even when proven baseless, have been enormously lengthy and expensive, with the onus on the ‘offender’ to pay legal fees. With the court system currently under great strain due to Covid, why should we bind all Victorians with more opportunity to litigate? Please make your vote count to stop this deeply divisive, potentially costly, and reckless Racial and Religious Tolerance Amendment Bill.

Fiona Patten’s proposed changes to Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act further threaten free speech and open the gate for more dangerous and costly lawsuits. Changing the definition of what constitutes vilification and incitement from ‘conduct that incites’ to ‘conduct that is likely to incite,’ and in some cases from ‘intentionally’ to ‘intentionally or recklessly’ broadens the definition of an offence so much that almost any conversation could be libellous. ‘Likely to incite’ could include reports from most media outlets - someone, somewhere is going to be offended. And who can assess whether a statement or action is reckless – without regard to the danger or consequences? An innocent slip of the tongue by one person could be a grievous offence to another. Please make your vote count to stop this deeply divisive, potentially costly, and reckless Racial and Religious Tolerance Amendment Bill.

Fiona Patten’s proposed changes to Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act further threaten free speech and open the gate for more dangerous and costly lawsuits. Her plans are hasty and ill-considered. At the time of introducing her bill Premier Daniel Andrews said “We’re probably looking to see what the outcomes are from some of the bills, particularly the religious freedoms bill, that are before the Federal Parliament. We want to see how that unfolds, because it might cut across some of the work we’re looking to do.” Federal freedom issues are still to be resolved. The Victorian government shouldn’t consider passing legislation that might soon be inconsistent with federal laws – despite the irrational haste of the ‘Reason’ Party. Please make your vote count to stop this deeply divisive, potentially costly, and reckless Racial and Religious Tolerance Amendment Bill.