Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs has blasted the Turnbull government's "highly unsatisfactory" and "curious" changes to Australia's race hate laws, warning they were being rushed through and could harm minorities.
She also clashed with Victorian senator Derryn Hinch over the commission's handling of the Bill Leak case at a fiery inquiry in which they accused each of other of misleading the Senate.
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Coalition pushes forward on 18c changes
Australia's race hate laws are set to be dramatically overhauled with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claiming they have lost their credibility, but the opposition says the government will fuel a return to the dark days of the Cronulla riots.
Professor Triggs said it was "categorically nor correct" for anyone to imply the commission supported removing the words "offend", "insult" and "intimidate" from section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
"It's very, very clear that we do not approve the changes to the substantive provision of the [act]," she said on Friday. "The current language has worked extremely well."
In her first public comments since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the proposed changes this week, Professor Triggs said she was "especially concerned" about allowing people to humiliate others on the basis of their race.
Inserting the word "harass" instead was "curious", "an entirely circular process" and "highly unsatisfactory", she said. The speed with which the changes were being pushed through was also "troubling".
While backing many of the procedural changes to the way human rights complaints are handled, Professor Triggs said she had deep concerns about shifting the burden of proof to what an ordinary member of the community would find objectionable, rather than a member of the affected minority group.
Often heated, the inquiry resurrected a long-standing grudge between Professor Triggs and Liberal senator Ian Macdonald, who warned her at one point: "You're here to answer questions, Professor Triggs, not to go off on a frolic of your own."
Tempers also flared when Senator Hinch, a long-standing free speech advocate, questioned the Human Rights boss about controversial News Corp cartoonist Bill Leak, who died two weeks ago at 61.
He was the subject of a high-profile complaint under section 18C concerning a cartoon that depicted an Indigenous Australian as a negligent parent.
Senator Hinch publicly accused Professor Triggs of misleading the Senate when she said Leak's lawyers had refused to use the "free speech" defence to have his case dismissed. His lawyers say they did make such a claim, accusing Professor Triggs of being "just wrong".
The case is significant because proponents of changing section 18C argue the Leak case shows the system is failing, while opponents of change believe Leak wanted the case against him to proceed to make a political point.
Professor Triggs said Senator Hinch had been "utterly irresponsible in relation to the truth".
"That is a false statement, and I believe that I am owed an apology," she said. "It is very clear ... that you have misled the Senate itself in making the allegations."
Senator Hinch replied: "I don't accept that and you will not be getting an apology."
Documents shown to Fairfax Media by the commission indicate Leak's lawyers believed the cartoon did not breach 18C in the first place but did not make a formal submission regarding an 18D defence.
It was the third time Professor Triggs has been hauled before a Senate committee accused of making misleading claims.
The inquiry is due to report on Tuesday before the proposed changes head to the Senate, where they are likely to be defeated by Labor, the Greens and the crossbench.