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• Free Speech

Freedom of speech is a crucial principle of a liberal democracy that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction.

The content of this is likely to cause offence, outrage and umbrage
Bill Leak, Barry HumphriesMarch 13, 2017

Trigger Warning: The content of this event is likely to cause offence, outrage and umbrage....

The content of this is likely to cause offence, outrage and umbrage
Bill Leak, Barry Humphries, Anthony MorrisMarch 8, 2017

Trigger Warning: The content of this event is likely to cause offence, outrage and umbrage....

The Limits of Australian Anti-discrimination Law
Helen AndrewsAugust 3, 2016Research Report 17

Anti-discrimination law has existed in Australia for only fifty years, and yet in that comparatively...

What are we fighting for? Islamism and the threat to liberal values
David KilcullenNovember 12, 2014

As prepared I want first to thank the Centre for Independent Studies for the opportunity...

A Quartet of Freedoms: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Association and Conscience
Jeremy Sammut, Peter Kurti, Robert ForsythOctober 16, 2014OP135

Political Rights, to which Australia is a signatory, gives high prominence to freedom of religion....

Conversation with Daniel Hannan
Nick CaterFebruary 14, 2014

Nick Cater in conversation with Daniel Hannan MEP February, 2014 Daniel Hannan is one of...

Business Means Business. Why Corporates Should Avoid Social Activism
Simon Cowan, Emilie DyeJuly 18, 2024AP72
Senior management should be concerned they are putting their companies at risk of reputational harm...
ap47 free speech
Free to Speak and Free to Believe? What Australians think about freedom of speech
Peter Kurti, Scott PrasserApril 20, 2023AP47

To what extent do Australians think speech is free in this country? According to polling...

Lord Sumption speaks at the Centre for Independent Studies
Rule of Law in a Time of Crisis: a conversation with Lord Sumption
Lord SumptionNovember 8, 2022OP191
Lord Sumption became what is widely regarded as a brilliant QC before he served as...
Australians’ Attitudes to Social Media: Connection or Curse?
Monica WilkieMarch 29, 2021PP37

Social media appears in the news cycle, almost daily, and the majority of the coverage...

Cancelled! How ideological cleansing threatens Australia
Peter KurtiAugust 17, 2020AP13

‘Cancel culture’ campaigns in Australia are intended to erase elements of our history and to...

Criminalising Hate Speech: Australia’s crusade against vilification
Monica WilkieSeptember 18, 2019AP6

In Australia, there are a range of criminal and civil vilification laws that exist to...

It’s judgment day: time for unis to kick politics off campus
Steven SchwartzJanuary 29, 2026THE AUSTRALIAN
The problem is not academic freedom itself. The problem is that universities have forgotten what...
Hanson’s burqa antics dodges hard questions on multiculturalism
Peter KurtiNovember 27, 2025AFR

Eight years after her first burqa stunt, Pauline Hanson pulled it out of the wardrobe...

Tolerance ends where darkest hatred begins
Peter KurtiNovember 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tolerance is often treated as an unqualified virtue. But even virtues have limits. When men...

Lattouf judgment evidence of an ABC that has badly lost its way
Tom SwitzerJune 26, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

The Federal Court’s judgment in favour of journalist Antoinette Lattouf represents not just humiliation for...

When hatred finds a home in our institutions
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025SPECTATOR

I recently watched the documentary October 8, a searing and distressing film about the aftermath...

When it feels like Australia is falling apart, hard truths can bring us back
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Faced with violent protests, rising antisemitism and growing cultural division, Australians are entitled to ask...

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Submission to the Senate Inquiry on Information Integrity
Michael StutchburySeptember 12, 2025

On behalf of the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), we are pleased to provide the...

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