Letter Published In The Age - Wednesday 9 August 2006

Phong Nguyen, Chairperson ECCV

Victoria's multicultural communities applaud Ted Baillieu for supporting the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. This legislation has helped entrench Victoria’s status as a harmonious, tolerant and multicultural community. It strikes the right balance between freedom of expression and freedom from vilification. This legislation has not curtailed debate around racial and religious issues. It hasn’t stopped free speech as its opponents have claimed. Debate in the Victorian community is as vigorous as ever. The legislation has simply put limits on extremist racial and religious hatred, which any decent society should applaud. With Victorians practising over 100 religious faiths and coming from over 200 countries it is important we all practice harmony and tolerance in our every day lives. Mr Baillieu has shown great leadership in continuing Victoria’s bipartisan tradition of support for racial and religious tolerance.