Speech

Trans and gender-diverse people experience ‘significant and preventable barriers to their safety and dignity’, report findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe sex discrimination commissioner says there has been a concerted disinformation campaign against transgender rights since Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage.The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on Tuesday – coinciding with international trans day of visibility – finding that trans and gender-diverse people experience “significant and preventable barriers to their safety, dignity and full participation in society” spanning healthcare, housing, education, employment and public life. Continue reading...

Jack Karlson’s rallying cry of ‘democracy manifest’ added to national collection of sound recordings that hold historical, cultural and aesthetic significanceGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThirty-five years ago, when Jack Karlson was hauled into a police car outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland, he couldn’t have known his bombastic speech would be watched by millions around the world, become a meme and now, be preserved for ever in Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.Karlson’s declaration – “Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest! … What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?” – is one of nine pieces of audio that have been added to the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia collection this year, along with a pedestrian crossing signal and Missy Higgins’ 2004 hit Scar. Continue reading...

Rulings in cases alleging antisemitism on US campuses say common pro-Palestinian speech is constitutionally protectedFew debates from the last few years have been more contentious than whether criticism of Israel and Zionism is antisemitic, threatens Jewish people or violates their civil rights. Allegations of antisemitism have cost people jobs, provided pretexts for censorship and fueled an unprecedented crackdown on protest over Israel and shows of support for Palestinian rights, especially at universities.Pro-Israel groups have filed hundreds of lawsuits or legal actions in an effort to silence some of this speech, with the vast majority filed since 2023 in response to the protest movement surrounding Israel’s recent war in Gaza. The most important rulings to have come out of these cases, experts say, have found that speech and slogans at the heart of the controversies are protected by the first amendment. Continue reading...

• Jessie Buckley was among the major winners at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, delivering an emotional acceptance speech that resonated with the audience at the Dolby Theatre. • The actress' win marked a significant moment in her career, with her performance earning recognition on Hollywood's biggest night alongside other nominated talents. • Buckley's speech captured the atmosphere of celebration and gratitude characteristic of the evening's biggest winners at the 2026 Academy Awards.

Author says he doesn’t ‘feel symbolic’ and hopes to steer narrative to his books after surviving assassination attemptSalman Rushdie said he’s tired of being everyone’s “free speech Barbie” four years after the author survived an assassination attempt that left him blinded in his right eye.“It’s a subject I’m anxious to change,” Rushdie said Friday during a talk with the Atlantic’s George Packer at Tulane University’s New Orleans book festival. “I don’t feel symbolic. Continue reading...