Questionable pub jokes protected in proposed law change
Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the Northern Territory government's planned anti-discrimination laws to be introduced to parliament in July.
At an estimates hearing on Monday, she rejected accusations from shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech that the planned laws "watered down" protections for people offended by comments made about them.
Ms Boothby said her government was restoring "fairness and common sense" to laws that went too far when revised by the previous Labor government in 2022.
The proposed laws remove "vague" terms such as '"offend" and "insult".
They will be replaced with clearer terms to prohibit conduct that "incites hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule" based on personal attributes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion and more.
"It's still a strong measure of anti-vilification, so we don't put up with that kind of behaviour," Ms Boothby said.
"Any kind of hate speech is not acceptable in our community."
The attorney-general said the new laws also restored protections for religious schools, allowing them to hire staff who upheld their faith while protecting against discrimination based on race, sexuality or gender.
Territorians wanted their freedom to enjoy the territory lifestyle, she said.
"It's not just having a joke at the pub that's going to land you in front of a hearing, we want something that's more serious than that," Ms Boothby said.
"We still want to be able to tell a joke. We still want to have freedom of speech debates."
It was a case of restoring balance and ensuring the law did not overreach into everyday conversations, religious freedoms, or basic rights to express an opinion, Ms Boothby said.
The government consulted on the new laws with religious and multicultural groups, sex workers, LGBTQI+ groups, the anti-discrimination commissioner and others.
The proposed legislation was in line with changes made in other Australian jurisdictions, the attorney-general said.
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