You have to laugh

A sense of humour would seem a prerequisite for membership of a party led by Adam Bandt, the little fellow’s wince-worthy grandstanding on matters of which he has loud and little grasp being a near daily occurrence. But it seems that when funny bones were being issued, Greens stalwart Mehreen Faruqi was nowhere to be found. Going AWOL — absent without laughter — hasn’t impeded the NSW Senator’s rise, nor her enjoyment of all the opportunities Australia has to offer. Diversity is a strength, as they say, and aren’t we to rejoice that a New Australian has settled in so comfortably and with such confidence?

But definitely not The Australian‘s Johannes Leak, who has been on the receiving end of a stern letter from the Senator’s lawyers asserting that the sketch is racist and … well let the learned friends lay out their client’s gripe:

The Cartoon’s publication has caused, and is likely to cause, ongoing serious harm to Senator Faruqi by associating her with a listed terrorist organisation and by suggesting that she is attempting to cover up the truth. This, in turn, calls into question her integrity, honesty, values, and fitness for office in the Australian parliament. It would obviously be untenable for a person who supported a listed terrorist organisation to sit in the Australian parliament.

The Cartoon has the potential to harm Senator Faruqi’s reputation in the future by causing Australians not to vote in her favour…

To which The Australian‘s lawyers replied:

Your client purports to advocate for free speech, yet herself is now using her status and position as an Australian Senator in order to stifle public discussion she doesn’t like.

Those with a subscription will find the full correspondence here, along with this observation from the artist:

“The mere fact she got her nose out of joint about it means that her impulse is to cry racism and ring the lawyers – that’s the new game.”

— rf