Section 18C should be scrapped; it is an outrageous attack on freedom of speech, and Lisa Singh is a politician making a political comment that she should be making in parliament.

Politicians have more than enough opportunities to air their views without putting their oars into one of the few areas where the citizenry can have a say.

Go away, Senator. The insidious and fascist Section 18C has nothing to do with your waffle about cricket.

The good Senator is not content with earning a disgusting amount of wages and a superannuation deal that is totally ridiculous but also wants to spout off here.
Whenever I see the Senate there are none of these drones there? Must be lounging around enjoying their ill-gotten gains.
If this joke is against this change then I am firmly for it!
Senator do you appreciate the contempt we have for you and your ilk?

OK, I admit I’m biased; whenever I see the words ‘racism’, ‘diversity’ and ‘sustainability’ (at least the good Senator should be congratulated for not using that last one) I head for the exit. But this time it’s different, for Lisa Singh has just presented me with a beautiful example of why the word racism should be expunged from all intelligent discourse and certainly from the statutes.

Cricket, she argues, is a competitive activity where pretty much any kind of offence from verbal abuse should be tolerated – except when it’s of the racial variety. Then it is beyond the pale and punishable.

So tell me Lisa, what rules do you reckon should cover sledging in a cricket match between Australia and Israel? Or England and Israel? Not so far-fetched, as one can see precisely that combat at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xWJGrbF6c.

It’s not that I think abuse is a good thing. The problem is that the term racism no longer means anything, or else it means whatever you want it to. Are the Poms a race? Are Jews a race? Are Israelis a race? And how many angels can you fit on the head of a pin?

Abuse is generally unpleasant and unproductive and is more often than not a reflection of the abuser’s stupidity and ignorance. Now there’s a useful project for the ALP, or perhaps the Greens: ban stupidity and ignorance.

"Racial equality is at the heart of genuine sporting contests. Only when all people are welcomed to the game can we have a genuinely international contest. And only when sport is played without prejudice can we witness a genuine challenge of human endeavour.".

Absolutely!
If people want to continue happily watching Australia play teams such as the West Indies, Pakistan and India, then we do have to try and crack down on the disgusting, cowardly racial abuse screamed at their players from the crowd of mindless morons.

We would expect the same treatment for our players in those countries.

In today's sports world, we are more mindful of racism in sports, and there are plenty of adverts about the problem, so no one should be surprised if they are chucked out of sporting venues and banned from them if they shout racial abuse.

There is an extremely fine line between racial abuse and freedom of speech...

[Deleted for abuse.]

When your basic freedoms are threatened by the likes of Senator Singh, I suppose strong language is justified.