Act ‘flawed’, says Wilson

By Rebecca Fraser
CASEY’s deputy mayor took to the steps of State Parliament on Tuesday when he dubbed the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act “flawed”.
Councillor Rob Wilson was one of 13 speakers to address the crowd at the Coalition For Free Speech Rally, to express their unhappiness with the present Act.
Cr Wilson spoke of the now infamous ‘witch’ case, where he was taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) after he issued a press release in 2003 stating that a “satanic cult” was out to take over the City of Casey.
On Tuesday Cr Wilson said that after going through the legal system and experiencing a “frivolous complaint” he, and those in attendance at the rally, knew the Act was flawed.
“The religious part of the law does not promote harmony and goodwill between religions, but rather more tit for tat-type actions and reactions,” he said.
“My experience of being taken to Equal Opportunity and VCAT has shown me that you are guilty under this Act until you prove yourself innocent.
“This is totally against our Westminster legal system where you are innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
Cr Wilson also called for the EOC to be completely overhauled.
“Freedom of speech is the key issue with this law,” he said. “After the findings of the Catch the Fire case (in which two pastors were found by VCAT to have breached the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act), no-one can speak freely any more mentioning religion without fearing that they will be dragged before the courts.”
He called on the State Government to take notice and amend or repeal the law.
The Pagan Awareness Network (PAN), which was a complainant against Cr Wilson over the press release, dismissed Tuesday’s rally as “the politics of bigotry”.
PAN Victorian coordinator Marian Dalton said the people behind the protest were the only individuals ever to have been found guilty of religious vilification in Victoria.
“There is a common element in all of this – the idea that one can express hatred towards others in the name of one’s fundamentalist beliefs,” she said. “This is out of step with a diverse and tolerant society.
“The Victorian Government should be congratulated on maintaining its support for religious tolerance.”
Ms Dalton said the Act enshrined in law a principle that most reasonable people would agree with.
“Namely, that you should treat people of other faiths the way you would want to be treated yourself,” she said.