Free Speech Must Be Accountable
Australian (Sydney), August 17, 2005
Over the past few weeks, Andrew Fraser, an associate professor in the department of public law at Macquarie University, has advocated his views from a number of public platforms. He has claimed, among other things, that Africans are congenitally inferior in terms of their intellectual capacity and naturally prone to violence. He has exhorted Australians to stop further African and Asian migration to Australia, as he believes this nation is at risk of what he terms “national suicide”.
In the flurry of media coverage that Fraser’s views have received, his supporters and many of his critics have sought to legitimise his views by accommodating them under the rubric of free speech. Free speech, like motherhood, is held to be one of the inalienable truths of Australian society. As a community of academics, scholars and educators, we wish to make these essential points about the ethics and limits of free speech:
* The freedom to speak is not absolute. Racism, specifically in the form of racial vilification of particular groups, is not free speech. It is proscribed by law and cannot be sanctioned in any quarter.
* Some people are freer to speak than others. Free speech is not an abstraction. In practice it is exercised by some and not by others. The freedom to speak is enjoyed by those who have access — through linguistic, educational, institutional and economic power — to the various forums that disseminate or silence our speech. Witness the number of column centimetres that Fraser and his supporters have received, in contrast to the fewer than a handful of articles in which the communities he racially vilifies have had the opportunity to respond.
It is dishonest to suggest that free speech is equally available to all. Some of us are entrusted with the ability to speak authoritatively, and to be listened to, because of the roles we occupy in society. This is why it is imperative for other academics to denounce Fraser’s continuing capitalisation on his academic title and institutional affiliation. Fraser has no academic research history in the field of race and ethnicity studies.
* As much as sticks and stones, words break bones. Sudanese-Australians have been bashed and attacked. In Toowoomba, in southeastern Queensland, a Sudanese-Australian family was driven out of town by repeated assaults from a neo-Nazi gang. The gang has warned that it will intensify its race-hate campaign (The Australian, July 23).
* Free speech is not a matter for the individual alone. We can see the limitations of this position as soon as we place students, largely ignored in the debate, at the centre of the issue. We are not just dealing with the sentiments of an individual but with the practices of a figure who exercises power and authority, vested in him by an institution, over students. His assessments help to determine their life chances in the future as well as their capacity to learn effectively in the present. How does a person who believes that people are unequally genetically endowed with intelligence and a capacity for violence undertake to fairly and equally assess students who come from different parts of the world? If a teacher holds such views, how can they treat students fairly on the basis of merit?
* It is timely to begin to talk about an ethics of speech founded on principles of responsibility and accountability. An ethics of speech demands that as speakers we take responsibility for unequal relations of power and resources, such as those that mark the relationship between a university professor and Sudanese refugees fleeing violence, poverty and persecution.
If free speech is not to become the last refuge for race fanatics and hate-mongers, in the context of an already volatile climate, it needs to be articulated hand-in-hand with an ethics of responsibility. Join us in denouncing the travesty of a free speech free of ethics.
Dr Adam Aitken
Department of Writing,
Ruben Dante Allas
PhD candidate, Faculty of Law
Wollongong University
Tess Allas
MA candidate, Faculty of Arts,
University of Sydney
Associate Professor Margaret Allen,
University of Adelaide
Dr Nicole Anderson
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Tim Anderson,
University of Sydney
Mireille Astore
University of Western Sydney
Shae Bacales
Macquarie University
Professor Bobby Banerjee
University of South Australia
Dr Greg Battye
School of Creative Communication,
University of Canberra
Dr Ian Bedford
Department of Anthropology,
Macquarie University
Associate Professor Melanie Beresford
Macquarie University
Dr Katherine Biber
Division of Law,
Macquarie University
Dr Tony Birch,
University of Melbourne
Dr Rebecca Bishop
Australian National University
Barbara Bloch
University of Western Sydney
Sonja Braidner
Ethics, Equity and Social Justice,
Curtin University of Technology
Dr Gill Branston
School of Journalism,
Media and Cultural Studies,
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Professor Colin Brown
Dean, Faculty of Media, Society and Culture,
Curtin University of Technology
Dr James N Brown
Macquarie University, retired,
London, Ontario, Canada
Dr Lia Bryant
University of Adelaide
Professor Chilla Bulbek
Department of Gender Studies,
University of Adelaide
Dr Maureen Burns
University of Queensland
Dr Adrian Carton
Macquarie University
Dr Maryrose Casey
University of Queensland
Benito Cao
University of Adelaide
Talya Chalef
private citizen,
North Fitzroy, Vic.
Andrea Chareunsy
Macquarie University
Charlene Chen
Macquarie University
Aree Cohen
Division of Society,
Culture, Media and Philosophy,
Macquarie University
Assoc Professor Anne Cranny-Francis
Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Laura Dales
School of Social and Cultural Studies,
University of Western Australia
Vinita Deodhar
Macquarie University
Professor Stephanie Hemelryk Donald
University of Technology, Sydney
Dr Tanja Dreher
Macquarie University
Adjunct Associate Professor Ian Duncanson
Griffith Law School,
Griffith University
Wilson Duong
Macquarie University
Dr Kevin Dunn
University of New South Wales
Dr Paul Dwyer
Faculty of Arts,
University of Sydney
Dr Jane Elliot
University of Wales,
Swansea, UK
Elaine Evans
Macquarie University
Gillan Evans
Macquarie University
John Fielder
Centre for Aboriginal Studies,
Curtin University of Technology
Dr Emma Felton
Australian Catholic University
Dr Natalie Fenton
Department of Media and Communications,
Goldsmiths College, London, UK
Dr Maria-Suzette Fernandes-Dias
Australian National University
Dr Joseph M Fernandez
Curtin University of Technology
Assoc Professor Tim Fitzpatrick
School of Languages and Culture,
University of Sydney
Dr Peter Gale
University of South Australia
Dr Debjani Ganguly
Australian National University
Dr Devleena Ghosh
University of Technology Sydney
Maria Giannacopolous
Critical and Cultural Studies
Macquarie University
Dr Albert Gomes
La Trobe University
Ian Goodwin-Smith
University of Adelaide
Mark Goudkamp
New South Wales Teachers Federation state councillor,
Sydney NSW
Dr Nicole Graham
Division of Law,
Macquarie University
Adjunct Assoc Professor Judith Grbich
Griffith Law School,
Griffith University
Hilary Green
Macquarie University
Dr Melissa Hardie
University of Sydney
Dr Mark Harris
Law School,
La Trobe University, Victoria
Dr Felicity Haynes
University of Western Australia
Associate Professor Gillian Heller
Department of Statistics,
Macquarie University
Dr Anna Hickey-Moody
Monash University
Dr Anne-Marie Hildson
Curtin University of Technology
Tomoko Hidaka
University of Adelaide
Alia Imtoual
University of Adelaide
Dr Laknath Jayasinghe
University of Queensland
Dr Fiona Jenkins
School of Humanities,
Australian National University, ACT
Dr Caroline Josephs
University of Western Sydney
Elaine Kelly
Macquarie University
John Kennedy
school principal, retired,
Concord West
Trish Kennedy
High school teacher,
Brigidine College, Randwick
Dr Olivia Khoo
University of New South Wales
Dr Tseen Khoo
School of Political & Social Inquiry,
Monash University
Ann Killen
University of South Australia
Peter King
National Institute of Social Research,
University of Adelaide
Sonja Kurtzer
Department of Gender Studies,
University of Adelaide
Elaine La Forteza
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Anthony Lambert
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Braddon Lance
Department of Economics,
Macquarie University
Dr Jacqueline Lo
Australian National University
Dr David T. J. Loong
School of Chemistry, University of Sydney
Trish Luker
School of Law and Legal Studies,
La Trobe University
Dr Catharine Lumby
University of Sydney
Dr Chris Lyttleton
Department of Anthropology,
Macquarie University
Dr Margaret Macintyre
Department of Communication and Cultural Studies,
Curtin University of Technology
Assoc Professor Nick Mansfield
Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Gay McAuley
Department of Performance Studies,
University of Sydney
Dr Aileen Moreton-Robinson
University of Queensland
Samantha Murray
Macquarie University, NSW
Venkat Narayanan
Department of Economics,
Macquarie University
Dr Fiona Nicoll
University of Queensland
Ryota Nishino
Faculty of Arts,
‘ Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Western Australia
Dr Susan Oakley
Department of Labour/Gender Studies,
University of Adelaide
Dr Baden Offord
Southern Cross University
Edison Oh
University of Melbourne
Dr Brigitta Olubas
Department of English,
University of New South Wales
Dr Goldie Osuri
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Simon Overall
Macquarie University
Dr Shalmalee Palekar
CAPSTRANS,
University of Wollongong
Lara Palombo
Department of Gender Studies,
University of Adelaide
Professor Chris Patel
Accounting and Finance,
Macquarie University
Dr Suvendrini Perera
Faculty of Media,
Society and Culture,
Curtin University of Technology
Associate Professor Peter Petocz
Department of Statistics,
Macquarie University
Hans Pieters
University of South Australia
Assoc Professor Bob Pokrant
Faculty of Media,
Society and Culture,
Curtin University of Technology
Assoc Professor Joseph Pugliese
Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Kalpana Ram
Department of Anthropology,
Macquarie University
Holly Randall-Moon
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Johanna Rendle-Short
School of Language Studies,
Australian National University
Rebecca Reeve
Department of Economics,
Macquarie University
Damien Riggs
Department of Psychology,
University of Adelaide
Ian Rintoul
Refugee Action Coalition
David Ritchie
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Philipa Rothfield
Philosophy Program,
La Trobe University
Professor Lynette Russell
Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies,
Monash University
Pam Rycroft
The Bouverie Centre,
La Trobe University
Dr Patricia Sant
Independent Scholar,
London, Ontario, Canada
Michelle Sparks
President, UTS Students Association,
UTS
Dr Deborah Staines
Macquarie University
Dr Julie Stephens
School of Social Sciences,
Victoria University
Budiadi Sudarto
Monash University
Dr Nikki Sullivan
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dominique Sweeney,
Australian National University
Carole Tan
School of Humanities and Human Services,
Queensland University of Technology
Jinna Tay
Queensland University of Technology
Deirdre Tedmanson
School of Social Policy,
University of South Australia
Professor Terry Threadgold
Cardiff School of Journalism,
Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Professor Margaret Thornton
Richard McGarvie
Chair of Socio-Legal Studies,
La Trobe University
Ingrid Tuveffson
University of New South Wales
Dr Selvaraj Velayutham
University of Western Sydney
Michelle Wauchope
University of South Australia
Julia Wee
Department of Critical and Cultural Studies,
Macquarie University
Dr Sara Wills
University of Melbourne.
Dr Amanda Wise
Macquarie University
Dr Ian Woodcock
Faculty of Architecture,
Building and Planning,
University of Melbourne
Evelyn Zargoza
Publisher, Philippine Community Herald
Goldie Osuri
Department of critical and cultural studies
Macquarie University
Suvendrini Perera
Faculty of media, society and culture
Curtin University of Technology
Joseph Pugliese
Department of critical and cultural studies
Macquarie University
Kalpana Ram
Department of anthropology
Macquarie University
Amanda Wise
Division of society, culture, media and philosophy
Macquarie University
[Editor’s Note: For more on this story, click here.]
