Labor Considers Introducing Code Of Race Ethics To Parliament

The would-be code has been suggested as a counter to the rise of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

The Guardian reports Labor is considering a plan to invite federal parliamentarians to sign a code of race ethics.

They would be signing off on a set of principles, including respect for religious and cultural diversity, supporting tolerance and justice within a multicultural society.

Importantly, the code would stress the need "to speak and write in a manner which provides factual commentary on a foundation of truth about all issues being debated in the community and the parliament".

This isn't the first time a code like this has been proposed. In 1996, Labor and Democrat senators were concerned about the obvious racial tensions during that year's election campaign. Labor is considering its' resurrection alongside Pauline Hanson's return to political power.

It appears that her recent senate speech, in which she warned Australia was in danger of being "swamped" by Muslims, was the catalyst for Labor to look at launching the code of race ethics again.

Australia's race discrimination commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, warned about the dangers of politicians using their platform to spread xenophobic sentiments.

"Make no mistake, we are in a time when our values and our harmony are being tested, and we need to rise to this test and ensure we live up to the best of our traditions as a nation of immigration," Soutphommasane said.

We can't eradicate #racism by telling its targets to grin and bear it @timsout #auspol #auslaw https://t.co/vKLRZzWQEI

— AusHumanRights (@AusHumanRights) 21 September 2016

For the time being, the code has yet to pass through Labor's internal processes. Labor's Mark Dreyfus says he hopes the code is widely supported by fellow members of parliament.

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