Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt has called a court finding against him “a sad day for free speech”.
Mr Bolt says on the front page of the Herald Sun he “cannot believe it’s come to this” after the Federal Court found that he breached the Racial Discrimination Act with two of his newspaper columns in 2009.
“I am truly shocked,” Mr Bolt says.
“I cannot believe this is Australia, a land of free speech.”
Mr Bolt’s 2009 articles suggested a number of fair-skinnedAborigines had chosen to identify themselves as Aboriginal so they could access benefits.
The court action was brought against him by some of those named in his articles.
Justice Mordecai Bromberg said he was satisfied that fair-skinned Aboriginal people were reasonably likely to have been “offended, insulted, humiliated or intimidated by the imputations conveyed” in the articles.
He said Mr Bolt and the Herald Weekly Times (HWT), publisher of the Herald Sun, had breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act
In his column in Thursday’s Herald Sun, Mr Bolt says his 2009 columns argued that the people he wrote about had choices.
“They could choose to identify as Aboriginal, or as some other ethnicity in their ancestry, or, as I do, as Australian. Even as an individual.”
Now he says, he must be “very, very careful” about discussing anyone’s identification with any ethnic group in Australia.
HWT says it is reviewing the judgment to consider whether to appeal.
The Herald Sun on Thursday backed Mr Bolt with its editorial, saying it believes his 2009 comments were a justifiable exercise of freedom of expression under the Racial Discrimination Act, which should make them exempt from being unlawful.
Meanwhile the lead plaintiff in the case, activist Pat Eatock, described the court win as one of the happiest moments of her life.
“I’m not going to be around for very much longer at my age and I’m telling you now it is a highlight of my career and my life,” the 72-year-old said.
Ms Eatock said the case was about professionalism and that regardless of whether Mr Bolt’s columns were opinion pieces, they had to be honest.
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