When Malcolm Turnbull was announcing proposed changes to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, the provision that governs Australia’s race hate laws, he made a pretty extraordinary claim.

Despite the fact the changes had come about because conservatives in the Liberal Party thought the law was too strong and prohibited freedom of speech, Turnbull said: “We are strengthening the race hate laws. These are stronger laws, more effective laws, because they are clearer laws.”

The proposed changes would no longer make it an offence to “insult, offend or humiliate” someone on the basis of their race. Those words would instead be replaced with “harass”. The government is also trying to make the law more “objective” by assessing the impact of potential actions on a “reasonable member of the Australian community”, as opposed to a member of an impacted ethnic of racial group which is currently the case.

Despite Turnbull’s claim that this would “strengthen the race hate laws”, it does sound like they are being watered down. So what do other government MPs think?

Senator James Paterson

In a video posted on Facebook after the changes were announced, Senator Paterson argued that the current laws did not “strike the right balance” between freedom of speech and protecting people from racial abuse. He claimed the proposed changes would enhance freedom of speech.

If the balance is shifting towards freedom of speech, that does kind of mean it’s shifting away protecting people from racial abuse.

But Paterson went even further, arguing that the new law would help bring back voters the Liberals had lost to One Nation. Now why exactly would that happen if the changes actually “strengthened” race hate laws as Turnbull suggested?

Barnaby Joyce

Even the Deputy Prime Minister isn’t buying Turnbull’s argument. According to Joyce, “there is a sense that the world is too politically correct.”

“If [this change] engenders a greater freedom of speech and is more robust than the initial 18C, that’s a good thing, because otherwise you become too wrapped in cotton wool,” he said.

So we’re making the law stronger… by unwrapping the cotton wool. Got it.

George Christensen

“Free speech has won over political correctness with the Liberal National government’s announcement it will reform Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act,” Christensen gleefully posted on Facebook.

Earlier he said that “protections are kept in place but freedom of speech, even on tough issues regarding race and ethnicity, has been restored.”

Even if “freedom of speech” has been restored on issues regarding race and ethnicity that doesn’t sound like a strengthening of race hate laws. It sounds like the opposite.

Eric Abetz

Back in 1995 (time to move on mate) Abetz gave a speech describing 18C as “the realm of the thought police state” and said that the “government has no role as the guardian of hurt feelings.”

This week he said that the government had “fixed” the laws and the changes would be “welcomed by Australians who prioritise freedom of speech above politically correct left-wing groupthink”.

Hmm. Does that sound like a strengthening?

Tim Wilson

During a debate with a Labor MP, Wilson said the changes should be supported because “When ethnic communities deride other minority groups, we should be free to discuss that without being censored by the government or dragged before the Human Rights Commission.”

Changing a law to specifically allow certain communities to deride other communities definitely doesn’t sound like a strengthening of race hate laws.

Senator James McGrath

“Freedom of speech is everything. From this deep old well comes our right to speak. To gather. To join or not join. To pray. To not pray. To think, to write and to believe.”

Pretty poetic words there from Senator McGrath, but it’s not really evidence that race hate laws have been strengthened. In fact, it’s more like the opposite.

McGrath also thanked the Young Liberals for their “advocacy” on the issue, claiming that the party wouldn’t have proposed changes without their support.

So what exactly is the Young Liberal’s position on 18C? They support full abolition of the law. Oops. You wouldn’t be thanking them for their advocacy if you were actually strengthening the law they wanted to abolish, right?

So… Pretty Much No One Agrees With Turnbull?

It’s not just Coalition MPs who are contradicting Turnbull. Conservative commentator Miranda Devine said the proposals would “de-claw” Section 18c. That is literally the opposite of strengthening the laws.

Here’s the thing: of course these proposed changes don’t strengthen race hate laws. They’ve been pushed by conservative Liberal MPs would want the law to be weakened.

Race hate laws do restrict freedom of speech, there’s no question about that. That’s the point of them. So if the law enhances freedom of speech, it by definition opens up more avenues for race hate.

Everyone knows that. Even Malcolm Turnbull knows it. It was very silly of him to pretend otherwise. If he wants to prosecute the argument he should do it on the facts, not by misleading the public by claiming he’s making our race hate laws stronger.