CTWTK: Does anyone remember the first anti-racism case in WA details?

[crowtribe]

I'm not sure what to search for, and so far have just found a bunch of racist Jack Van Tongeran stuff everywhere.

In particular, I'm just trying to find a news article about the first anti-racism court case after the new legislation was bought in in WA.

It was a white girl against an aboriginal girl for being called a "white cunt". It was controversial at the time due to the fact it was supposed to protect aboriginals from white racism and the first case ended up the other way around.

If anyone has any details, please forward them to me.

This isn't a topic in favour for or against, I just need the information.

[Church]

Yeah, to my knowledge, these racial vilification laws have been used only twice. Both times against Aboriginals, not for them. The first being the one you mentioned, and the second against a man... I don't have the details at hand and I'm having trouble looking it up. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to you.

Amazing that some people don't think there's a trend of systemic racism when the above can occur.

[Diesal]

This one?

A-G backs court decision in racial vilification case

The Western Australian Attorney-General, Jim McGinty, has endorsed a court's decision to dismiss racial vilification charges against a Goldfields teenager.

In the first case to be prosecuted under the state's racial vilification laws, the court has dismissed the charge against the 16-year-old Aboriginal girl.

Magistrate Kate Auty found the new law was meant to deal with serious and severe verbal abuse.

But the magistrate ruled the girl's verbal abuse of a 19-year-old girl in April was simply petty name calling.

Mr McGinty says, in this case, the laws should not have been applied.

"They're about serious ongoing vilification of a serious nature," he said.

"That's not what occurred in Kalgoorlie, it was a bit of youthful stupidity.

"A heat of the moment explosion by a young person shouldn't be the subject of criminal action.

"Nobody would agree with what she had to say, it was a stupid thing to say and she deserves to be condemned for it, but whether the criminal law should be invoked is another thing altogether."

Dennis Eggington from the Aboriginal Legal Service has welcomed the court's not guilty verdict.

"The Jewish community and the Chinese community have suffered, other ethnic groups have suffered and Aboriginal people have suffered," he said.

"And we need to make sure that people are protected, and by bringing cases of this sort and matter to court, this particular matter racial vilification wasn't the right one to do it."

No one from Kalgoorlie Police has been available for comment.

A-G backs court decision in racial vilification case. 15 September 2006. Western Australia Summer News

[Gryphen]

But how different would that have been in the person being villified had been Chinese\Jewish\Aboriginal?

[crowtribe]

Thanks heaps for that. Appreciate it.

I have found however that the main charge was assault and the local cops pinned the (at the time) new legislation on the other girl as an additional charge.

From what I read the other girl didn't really care about the racial villification stuff, that just came up in her statement and was used against her attacker.