Whinge industry has played racial discrimination law like a fiddle

When they answered truthfully, no, they were asked to leave and promptly did so. (It might have been fun had they answered yes because the issue of proof would then have come into play).

The excluded students subsequently posted comments on Facebook - one wrote, "fighting segregation with segregation". This was a perfectly valid criticism of the fact segregated facilities had been established for a group of students by their race (identity, for the faint-hearted).

The perfectly reasonable discussion about segregation was blown away under the aegis of hurt feelings.

Leak's cartoon, which featured a drunken and dishevelled Aboriginal father, was used by the race commissioner to whip up a complaint.

The substantive issue that was displaced by this offensive action was that the culture in remote Aboriginal communities is such that, in too many instances, Aboriginal parents provide a hopeless role model for their children. Again, an absolutely reasonable discussion, about the failure of some Aboriginal parents to take responsibility for their own children, was blown away under the aegis of hurt feelings.

In policy terms, 18C is a big failure. Changes to 18C, announced by the government yesterday, especially the common-person test and the risk to complainants of wearing costs, should shut down the whinge industry.

Any Liberal who opposed these changes should resign from the party. Any crossbencher that opposes the changes should fear the voters. Yesterday was Harmony Day, a great day to reclaim a sense of national integration.