Bravo! to Sky News for running the article below.
We must use our vote at the forthcoming federal election to rid our houses of parliament of those who hate Australia and its foundations. We must put a stop to the infiltration of Australia’s institutions by those who hate us.
Those who don’t know who Mehreen Faruqui is will find abundant information on record (including You tube) of this typical Greens member. Read and research to find out if I’m not right.
The federal election, due to take place in early 2025, is likely to be the last chance to act against the Trojan Horse conservatives have been warning about for decades.
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‘Totalitarian impulse’: Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi attempts to ‘delete’ satirical cartoon from the internet in legal threat
The cartoonist at the centre of a Greens Senator’s “totalitarian” legal bid to delete his satire has argued the outrageous response was the antithesis of Australia’s “traditions of free speech”.
Adriana Mageros and Tyrone Clarke , Sky News, July 18, 2024
The Australian’s cartoonist Johannes Leak has hit back at a Greens Senator’s “totalitarian” legal bid to delete his satire, claiming the illustration is no different to how he would depict other Australian political leaders.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has demanded an apology and thousands of dollars in legal fees from The Australian over a satirical cartoon she claims is “patently racist”.
Ms Faruqi has threatened defamation action against the publication over the illustration by Leak, which depicts the Senator in a Hamas headband while applying “white wash” on a wall to cover the words “October 7”.
However, Leak has vehemently rejected suggestions his cartoon is racist.
The cartoon depicted the Senator in a Hamas headband while applying “white wash” on a wall to cover the words “October 7”. Picture: Johannes Leak / The Australian
Speaking with Sky News Australia host Chris Kenny on Thursday, Leak said it was the first time a subject of his drawings had been “so upset by my cartoon that they’ve felt compelled to bring the lawyers in”.
He said the caricature was in no way different to the way he would depict other politicians and was indicative of the “healthy argy bargy” in the national debate.
“It’s very revealing, because her instinct is to shut that down,” Leak said.
“Rather than respect the traditions of free speech and free expression her instinct is to shut it down.
“And to delete it from the public record and I think that is incredibly telling and it shows there’s a real totalitarian impulse lurking there somewhere I think.”
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has demanded an apology and thousands of dollars in legal fees from The Australian over a cartoon she claims is “patently racist”. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Oldman
In the cartoon, published last Monday, Ms Faruqi is portrayed using a roller to paint over the date displayed on the wall, which marks Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel last year.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just a bit of paint,” the speech bubble read above the Senator’s head.
The Australian on Thursday revealed lawyers for the New South Wales Senator had sent the publication a concerns notice, claiming the cartoon has the potential to harm her reputation and turn away voters.
“The Cartoon is patently racist, by design and effect,” part of the legal letter read, dated July 11.
Cartoonist Johannes LeakLeak has vehemently rejected suggestions his cartoon is racist. Picture: John Feder/ The Australian
“It adopts racist stereotypes of Muslims and women of colour, with the self-evident intention of vilifying Senator Faruqi because of her race, colour and religion.
“It is gratuitous and it is likely to incite hatred towards her.”
Ms Faruqi’s legal team argue the illustration “has caused, and is likely to cause, ongoing serious harm” to the Senator by “associating her with a listed terrorist organisation and by suggesting that she is attempting to cover up the truth”.
“The Cartoon has the potential to harm Senator Faruqi’s reputation in the future by causing Australians not to vote in her favour in the next Senate election, because they think that she is affiliated with a terrorist organisation,” the letter read.
“It is important to Senator Faruqi to have a reputation as a trustworthy, honest and decent politician, both because these characteristics matter to her personally and because a reputation of this kind would assist her to retain her Senate position.”
Johannes Leak penned another cartoon in the aftermath of the concerns notice, illustrating how his depiction of the Greens Senator was equally as critical as other drawings of Australian political leaders. Picture: Johannes Leak / The Australian
Leak said he was confused how the Senator could interpret the cartoon as racist.
“Unless the new rules around racism and so forth mean that it is simply unacceptable to draw a cartoon that is in anyway critical of somebody who is not a straight white male,” he said.
“I mean otherwise I simply cannot understand why what applies or what is perfectly tolerable to the majority of politicians and other people out there, is beyond the pale and racist when it happens to centre on Mehreen Faruqi.”
The cartoon came after Ms Faruqi’s appearance on ABC’s Insiders program on July 7, when she refused to say whether she thought terror group Hamas should be “dismantled”.