A judge has ruled it is legal to call Tony Abbott a c*** because Australians don’t find the swear word as offensive as other English speaking countries.
A NSW court ruled on Tuesday that a 75-year-old man’s sign, which read Tony You C**t’, was not offensive because it was ‘essential political comment’ and the word ‘c***’ was ‘prevalent in everyday language’.
Well-known Sydney identity Danny Lim – who is often seen wearing bright sandwich boards with political messages – was seen in Edgecliffe, Sydney’s eastern suburbs in August 2015 with a sign bearing the phrase.
‘Peace, smile, people can change, Tony you c***, liar, heartless, cruel, peace be with you,’ the sign said on the front
‘Peace, smile, people can change, Tony you c***, liar, heartless, cruel, peace be with you,’ the sign said on the front.
On the back of the sign it read: ‘tricky lying, Tony you c***, screw education, health, jobs and the environment, children’s children’s future, smile’.
The word in question was presented as a depiction of the word ‘can’t’ but the letter A was curved and inverted.
The prosecutors who took Mr Lim to court, said ‘by inverting a rounded capital A in the word ‘can’t’ on the front of the sign, it referred to the then Prime Minister as a c***’.
The Sydney activist has since been pictured with signs directed at current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured)
Mr Lim was fined $500 for using offensive language in a public place but he refused to pay and fought his case in court
Mr Lim was fined $500 for using offensive language in a public place but he refused to pay and fought his case in court.
In February 2016 a magistrate found the sign was offensive but on appeal, Judge Andrew Scotting disagreed and ruled it was ‘not necessarily offensive, even when used in a public place’.
‘Politicians and their views are often subject to criticism in public. This is an essential and accepted part of any democracy,’ Judge Scotting said on Tuesday.
‘That criticism can often extend to personal denigration or perhaps even ridicule, but still maintain its essential character as political comment.’
Judge Scotting said that then Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not deserve special treatment just because he was the leader of the Federal Government.
Judge Scotting said that then Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not deserve special treatment because he was the leader of the Federal Government
The judge said the word was so ‘prevalent’ in Australians’ language that it lost its power
‘The impugned word is now more prevalent in everyday language than it has previously been,’ Judge Scotting said
He said the word was so ‘prevalent’ in Australians’ language that it lost its power.
‘The impugned word is now more prevalent in everyday language than it has previously been,’ Judge Scotting said.
‘The prevalence of the impugned word in Australian language is evidence that it is considered less offensive in Australia than other English speaking countries, such as the United States.’
Judge Scotting said Mr Lim’s conduct was ‘inappropriate and in poor taste’ but said he did not consider it offensive.
He said Mr Lim did not ‘unequivocally use the impugned word’ because the sandwich board used the word ‘can’t’.
Judge Scotting said Mr Lim’s conduct was ‘inappropriate and in poor taste’ but said he did not consider it offensive
While he said the word could easily be read as ‘c***’, he said ‘the language used was clearly a play on words’.
Mr Lim’s penalty and conviction were both set aside by Judge Scotting on Tuesday.
The Sydney activist has since been pictured with signs directed at current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
‘Malcolm you c***, take away peace smile from children, our future,’ one sign read.
‘Peace smile, Malcolm you c*** or can be trusted.
‘Peace smile, happy, erection, Malcolm you c*** screw children’s future.’