Good one mhaze. People shitposting really need to take English lessons before they start sounding off.

On Thorpe and her disgusting abuse of the King, anyone else would have been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Is it right to censor Senators in Australia?

Yes - if their words and behaviour incite hatred
and division.

In the case of Lidia Thorpe and Ralph Babet -
parliament decided - to censor. The pair will be given
an opportunity to respond to the censure.

Thorpe was censored for her disrespectful and
disruptive protest in parliament during the
visit of King Charles. She, as a senator having
taken an oath of loyalty to the monarch
(she claims she didn't) her behaviour was considered
inappropriate for a senator.

As for Ralph Babet? his posts aimed at people of
colour, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people - were
considered as "hate speech".

Parliament took a stand in both cases.

Freedom of speech is not absolute. It carries with it
responsibilities. The limits on free speech should be'
few and far between but there are limits on
free speech to protect the rights of others. For example,
tech companies are being held accountable for the
elimination of terrorist and violent extremist content
online. Action will be taken if they fail to do so.
Online safety laws will apply. No one will be above the law.

We have the right to speak but just because we have this
right does not mean we have the right to use that power
to hurt others. People should recognise this right's
limitations.

Words are powerful. What is said can affect people,
change people, hurt people, incite people, create
hatred and division, or encourage people, unite people,
and give hope to people.

Senators who represent people should be made to realize
they need to comply to higher standards of behaviour.
And, they will be judged accordingly. Their positions
must carry responsibilities.

People who can't accept these responsibilities should
not hold the positions of senators. After all they
represent everyone in their electorates, not just a select
few.

mhaze,

You can focus on two vowel differences and slight differences in points or focus on the bigger picture issue which I'm trying to do here. My point is with the censure motion is that the aim is to censor and silence senators in this case and is subsequently limiting their ability to represent voters and people who elected them. It is now clear the Labor and Liberal parties are in bed here to shut down people they don't agree with in parliament and the Senate here. It is a form of silencing and has wide and severe implications for democracy in Australia.

Hi Nathan,

Surely all of our senators should be able to engage
in debates and commentary respectfully and to refrain
from inflammatory and divisive comments both inside
and outside the chamber?

If they can't then it is not appropriate for them to
be in the Senate. This is not about censorship or
silencing the senators. It's about the way in which
they behave and how they act. We should demand more
from them for the high positions they hold and the
high salaries they receive.

Hi Foxy,

A transcript of what Thorpe said to Charles;

“You‘re not our king. You’re not sovereign.
You‘re not our king. You’re not sovereign.

You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us - our bones, our sculls, our babies, our people.
You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty.

We want a treaty in this country. You’re a genocidalist. This is not your land. This is not your land.
You’re not my king. You’re not our king.

F'k the colony. F'k the colony. F'k the colony.”

Thorpe represents a certain constituency within society who would hold with that above view. Saying words must not incite hatred and division is reasonable, but presenting what many would believe is a distasteful view is not necessarily inciting hatred and division. I don't see anything in Thorpe's words that does that.

On Ralph Babet he said this on "X";

My n*r nailed this one. One hundred percent [sic].”
“In my house we say ph*t, r*d and n*r. We are sick of you woke ass clowns. Cry more. Write an article. Tweet about me. No one cares what you think.”

I don't know what else he has posted but again he also has a constituency that agrees with his views, they may be distasteful to many but he has a right to say things.

People need to make up their mind if they want a Democracy or free speech which includes blatant lying that favours minority groups !