The term Aboriginal means anyone born of the land (the country) they reside in. The original inhabitants before white settlers are Origine Aboringinals.
I for one am concerned when we no longer are permitted freedom of speech.
Our Australian Constitution Act 1900 guarantees us the people (regardless of whether origine aborigine, white aborigine or immigrant, the right to dree speech, and the right to trial by jury.

Interesting points, Gypsy.

This is a very thoughtful and valuable article. But I get worried when the author writes:

"..... racial vilification is not confined to racial hatred. If you consider that one of the primary purposes of speech is to persuade, then a compelling message that might do significant damage to the reputation of a group or an individual might be conveyed in a manner other than that which is hateful."

The application of this 'principle' could open a Pandora's box of mischief, not to mention its effect to severely limit what people feel they can say. So we can't make any comments on anybody's behaviour, for fear of being accused of vilifying their 'group' ? In fact, could I be pinged for using quote marks around 'group' ?

On the matter of Larissa Behrendt's father's father: perhaps it's splitting hairs, but my understanding is that Paul Behrendt lost his Aboriginal mother when he was only five and did not discover that he had Aboriginal ancestry until he was well into adulthood, when his daughter was at least approaching adolescence.

Yes, it was a mistake for Bolt to describe Larissa Behrendt's father as German, but given Paul's late arrival at knowledge of his ancestry, until then he may not have been any the wiser about Aboriginality than his own German-Australian father, perhaps a lot less. After all, he didn't inherit any knowledge from his mother (am I allowed to say that ?) and would have had to pick it up from conversations and books, like so many of the rest of us.

Joe

"Bolt got some facts wrong".

Correction.

Bolt deliberately omitted those facts that did not support his biassed opinion and has a long history of doing this.

There is a significant difference and it has nothing to do with "free speech" but everything to do with deliberately spreading malicious propaganda and shoddy journalism.

David,

Fair enough, I read the news articles.

When is an Aborigine an Aborigine in the commonly accepted Australian sense of the word?

There’s this little Jewish boy, Hymie Leibowitz. His parents are strictly orthodox Jews. They live in a little village populated mainly by other orthodox Jews. Little Hymie is raised as a pious Jew.

At age 18 Hymie leaves the village for the big city. He wins a scholarship to attend the most prestigious law school in the country. He graduates top of his class. He changes his name to Henry Leland and gets a job with one of the nation’s great corporate law firms. Within 10 years Hymie is made partner.

Hymie becomes wealthy. He is nominated for and accepted as a member of the city’s most prestigious club, the yacht club. He takes to wearing nautical style attire during his leisure time. We’ve all seen the type, blue blazer with meaningless gold braid, white trousers, nautical style cap, etc. He looks like a fake captain.

One day the now middle-aged Hymie decides it is time to visit his aged parents back in the little village. He left by train (second class) but returns in a chauffeur drive limo.

Hymie’s parents are dumbstruck when they see this apparition in nautical gear appear on their humble doorstep.

Finally Hymie’s Yiddische mama breaks the silence. “Hymie, darling,” she says, “to me you’re a captain. To papa you’re a captain. But to a captain are you are captain?”

And you may make of this allegory what you will.

Dilan Thampapillai

“Now that Bolt has lost is the law itself on trial?”

A ‘Law’ is the product of legal entities, men or women and, ultimately, the responsibility of one, the one who has the power to enforce it.

Our system of governance is based on the belief that political power is divisible, belief that closes our eyes to the evidence that however we divide the tasks in a Democracy, the pivotal power remains the legislative one, the executive and judicial being dependent to the legislative.

Needless to say that we have a Justice Minister and the armed Forces of order kill according to the Law.

Your arguments, fine as they are, do not bother the ones that hold the whip by the handle.

Sir it takes more than arguments, however fine, to vacate thrones.