A far-right group accused of engaging in “public acts of hate speech” against LGBTI people has failed to appear in the Queensland anti-discrimination tribunal to respond to a landmark complaint.
The LGTBI legal service last year lodged complaints against 25 groups and individuals who made “shocking” public comments, mostly online, and social media posts, during the 2017 same-sex marriage postal survey.
The first case to proceed is against the far-right Party for Freedom, which produced posters that equated same-sex marriage with child abuse. The group and its founder, Nick Folkes, did not attend a compulsory conciliation conference on Tuesday in Brisbane.
The LGBTI legal service president, Matilda Alexander, said the conference process allowed people who had engaged in acts of hate speech to end complaints without further legal action, including by removing offensive posts that remained online, replacing the posts with links to support services, and making an apology.
Alexander said the service would now pursue the Party for Freedom under the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act, and that the next step was to bring the case before the Queensland civil and administrative tribunal. The tribunal has the ability to impose financial penalties and other sanctions.
“For a party that’s so concerned about freedom of speech and freedom of expression, today they had here a legitimate and lawful opportunity to express their views ... and they didn’t take advantage of that opportunity,” Alexander said.
The service received Queensland government funding to monitor hate speech during the same-sex marriage debate. It said it found about 220 posts that met the legal definition of hate speech, but decided to pursue the 25 worst examples.
Alexander said the group was surprised at how easy it had been to track down people who made posts.
“We thought everyone would be using a fake name to do this sort of activity, but a lot of people weren’t,” Alexander said.
“I think that’s a reflection of the fact that people feel an online platform is an accountability-free zone. People who are afraid to say something to somebody’s face are not afraid to say it online.”
The Queensland anti-discrimination council has investigatory powers and has helped the legal service track down people who made posts, including those who had common names.
Alexander said the LGTBI legal service was not aiming to “punish people” but to ensure that hateful posts were removed, and to discourage others from spreading the same sorts of material in future.
“There are consequences, including financial consequences,” Alexander said. “These are strong laws and it might take a little while for the respondents to realise that, but there are provisions in place to prevent hate speech.”
