Cartoonist Bill Leak Says It's "Absurd" He's Being Called A Racist

Cartoonist Bill Leak has been accused of being racist and is currently under investigation by the Human Rights Commission over a controversial cartoon.

The cartoon which prompted the investigation had appeared in The Australian newspaper and it portrayed an Indigenous father and his son.

Leak appeared on ABC's Lateline program last night, saying that the investigation against himself and The Australian is stifling free speech.

"I think 18C is an abomination," he said. "Freedom of speech is what created our civil and free society. It is all about the exchange of ideas, about letting people express their views in the marketplace of ideas."

Leak said he was "bewildered" when people accused him of being racist.

In related news, Bill Leak reveals he doesn't know the meaning of the word "bewildered". https://t.co/YkMYnx4Dwn

— Sami Shah (@samishah) October 20, 2016

"I have been hammered with this ever since the cartoon was published," he said. "I thought, how could anyone interpret it as racist? A lot of people obviously did. But I can only say what I was thinking when I drew it."

As journos we must defend Bill Leak. His cartoon was provocative, prompted debate on a vital issue. That should be encouraged not punished!

— NickMcCallum7 (@NickMcCallum7) October 17, 2016

Leak's cartoon was supposedly published in response to the Four Corners report on the treatment of (mostly) Indigenous children at Don Dale detention centre.

He describes himself as a "colour-blind" person and attempted to justify where the inspiration for the cartoon came from.

"A lot of these kids are coming from the most desperate circumstances," he said. "I thought to myself, well, it comes back ultimately to parents. We all know that's true."

Bill Leak exposed nothing. Aboriginal people are well aware of issues confronting us and have been dealing with them for years.

— Ben Wyatt MLA (@benwyatt) October 21, 2016

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion called the cartoon racist and extremely tasteless.

"Although Australian cartoonists have a rich tradition of irreverent satire, there is absolutely no place for depicting racist stereotypes," he said. "I would urge the Australian to be more aware of the impact cartoons like the one published today can have on Indigenous communities."

The Australian has firmly backed Leak, going as far as to publish an editorial saying family failure was the root cause of "Indigenous Misery".

The Human Rights Commission has yet to disclose more details of their investigation.

Photo: ABC Lateline