Liberal defenders of free speech curiously silent over banning of Bassem Tamimi

Less than a fortnight after the 18C debate inspired so many thunderous denunciations of censorship, the Liberals have been granted an opportunity to put their principles in practice, courtesy of an attack on free speech carried out by, well, by the Liberals, actually.

The Turnbull government has intervened to prevent the Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi from lecturing in Australia, cancelling his visa just before he boarded a plane for a scheduled speaking tour.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection justified the decision on the basis that “members of the public will react adversely” but then, in a nice touch, censored the detailed reasoning behind its censorship.

“For privacy reasons,” it explained, “the department is unable to comment on specific details of individuals.”

You’ll remember, no doubt, the grand rhetorical arabesques that accompanied the parliamentary sessions devoted to 18C.

Read the article by Jeff Sparrow in The Guardian.