Victorian Court Hears Arguments in Religious Vilification Case Against ABC

The front entrance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) head office, the Ultimo Centre, in Sydney, Australia on Nov. 18, 2023. Wade Zhong/The Epoch Times

Lawyers representing Falun Gong practitioners have argued that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is not a Commonwealth entity amid an ongoing discrimination proceeding against the public broadcaster.

The ABC has been sued by Australian Falun Gong practitioners for allegedly inaccurate and biased reporting of the spiritual meditation discipline via a series of programs in 2020.

The practitioners allege that ABC’s programs, Foreign Correspondent and Background Briefing, incited public hatred and hostility toward them, and that the national broadcaster violated Section 8 of Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001.

Section 8 prohibits any person from engaging in conduct inciting “hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule” of a class of persons. The conduct may occur in or outside Victoria.

The lawsuit against ABC began in late 2021 in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), with physical hearings commencing in August 2023.

However, during a court hearing in November 2023, an ABC legal representative argued that the lawsuit was outside the VCAT’s jurisdiction as he reasoned that the broadcaster was part of the Commonwealth of Australia.

This delayed the case, with the matter referred to the Supreme Court of Victoria to determine whether VCAT had jurisdiction over it.

Public Wants the ABC Independent, Not Part of the Government: Lawyer

At the Supreme Court of Victoria’s hearing on Aug. 2, counsel Peter King, who represented Falun Gong practitioners, argued at one point that the ABC was not the Commonwealth under the Copyright Act 1968, as well as in a broader sense.

The barrister cited Section 5 of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 and stated that the ABC continued its existence due to the effect of one subsection.

“The words ‘continues in existence’… was plainly the Parliament saying to the legal fraternity and to the ABC [that] you are not the Commonwealth [and] that is our intention,” King told the court.

King also cited a number of cases in which judges concluded that the ABC was not part of the federal government.

In addition, he pointed out that the ABC acknowledged that it was not the Commonwealth in its first submission to the Court.

Later, the barrister raised the question of whether the ABC wanted to be seen as the Commonwealth when it operated.

He argued that it was not in the public interest for that to happen, saying Australians wanted the ABC to remain independent and impartial.

In another argument, King said submissions by the Victoria attorney-general office indicated that the VCAT had the duty and power to decide whether it had jurisdiction.

ABC’s Response

Meanwhile, ABC’s legal representative Graeme Hill SC, said the broadcaster’s status as a separate legal entity did not prevent it from becoming part of the Commonwealth.

He then raised the issue of whether a body performing an important government function might be considered part of the Commonwealth.

The representative pointed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Electoral Commission.

While the ABC’s legal representative acknowledged that broadcasting was not necessarily a function of the government, he said despite operating independently, the ABC was still the receiver of government funding and was required to act with “accountability and integrity.”

In a separate argument, the ABC’s representative cited cases and said that VCAT could form an opinion but did not have full jurisdiction to determine the matter.

After both sides presented their arguments, Justice Claire Harris, who presided over the hearing, said she would deliver the judgment at a later date.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

The practice was introduced in China in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi and quickly became popular among the public.

However, in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched a state-wide persecution against Falun Gong as it considered it a threat to its rule.

The persecution resulted in many practitioners being subject to torture, arbitrary detention, forced re-education or even forced organ harvesting.

Overseas, the CCP has exerted its soft power to silence debate from governments, major businesses, and media outlets.

Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this article.