I wonder if the people distributing this garbage feel they are operating under the protection of John Howard's ''Free- Speech" umbrella? Maybe they are testing the water as a prelude to the next election. By rights, the GST should sound the political death-knell of John Howard . I hope I'm wrong, but I think that a desperate Howard will give his trusty steed, ''Racism and Bigotry" a real flogging this time around. Laurie. Laurie and Desley Forde [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------- Trudy Bray wrote........ -----Original Message----- From: Trudy Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: news-clip <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 10:35 AM Subject: The Mercury: 'Racist' material sparks inquiry >The Mercury >'Racist' material sparks inquiry > By ANNE BARBELIUK > 03may00 > > AN INQUIRY has been launched into large volumes of allegedly racist mail being > circulated in Tasmania. > > The material, being distributed in letterboxes around Launceston, consists of > documents, cartoons, poetry and an audio tape. > > Most of it depicts pictures or words which are anti-Jewish or anti-black in > sentiment. > > In announcing the terms of reference for the inquiry yesterday, Anti-Discrimination > Commissioner Jocelynne Scutt said the move followed many calls from distressed > people to her office. > > In one case, a three-year-old child had discovered the material in the family > mailbox. > > Dr Scutt said much of the material contained pictures and references to > Aborigines, African Americans and Jews. > > She said some of the documents also seemed to relate to people of certain sexual > orientation, disabled people and women. > > Dr Scutt said the inquiry would act as a test case for the rest of Australia, > whereby an Australian precedent would be set for determining what was > discriminatory material and whether it was likely to incite hatred. > > She said Tasmania's new Anti-Discrimination Act was the most comprehensive in > Australia and other states were considering amending their laws and looking to > Tasmania's as a model. > > Dr Scutt said that since December last year, her office had received more than 25 > complaints about the material � including one from the Launceston Synagogue. > > The Executive Council of Australian Jewry yesterday welcomed the inquiry, saying > it was frustrated by delays with a separate case before the federal Human Rights > and Equal Opportunities Commission. > > A spokesperson for the commission said yesterday written submissions to the > hearing were completed in April of last year but no decision had been reached yet. > > The vice-president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Jeremy Jones, said > Dr Scutt's inquiry was "very welcome from our perspective". > > Dr Scutt said the inquiry would focus on the nature of the material rather than > people distributing it. > > She did not identify anyone allegedly involved in the distribution. > > > > >************************************************************************* >This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without >permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, >scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal >copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of >the copyright owner, except for "fair use." > > > ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
