MARK DREYFUS MP

Press freedom is vital to our democracy of course it is. But you don't really appreciate the meaning of that sentence until photos appear of police officers in a journalist's house, flicking through her cookbooks looking for evidence of a crime. Or until you see footage of police officers sitting in the ABC cracking into a hard drive, just a day later.

It has taken more than 40 years for the Family Court's existence to be threatened. But that is happening now.

Whether or not you think section 44(i) is unnecessary or doesn't reflect our multicultural society, the fact is it is in our constitution and it is the current law of the land, until it is changed.

In an era where fake news can spread myths and conspiracy theories with extreme efficiency, it is more important than ever for elected politicians to use what authority they have to present the facts and set people straight.

Torture is wrong, and that fact is so self-evident that it shouldn't have to be said. It also doesn't 'work' in extracting reliable confessions. It is an abhorrent relic of the darkest chapters of human history, and in 2017 there is simply no place for torture as a policy of democratic governments.

The anti-18C argument only survives because it is based on misrepresentation of the way in which this provision works.

The Coalition's past three years have caused confusion and chaos throughout the arts sector. The Coalition's arts policy has been to cut arts funding and compromise the independence of the Australia Council.

Labor in government will rebuild trust and confidence in the arts trust and confidence which has been trashed by the Abbott-Turnbull Government.

Labor will ensure all roles at the Human Rights Commission are appropriately filled with the right people for those important jobs, and stand back and let the Commissioners do their job

Only a Royal Commission can examine whether existing laws are adequate and whether the regulators have the powers and resources they need to address the systemic problems that are so clearly evident in our financial system, and to suggest steps to restore the public's trust in our financial sector.

Since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull has presided over one of the most significant outbreaks of hateful, ugly anti-LGBTI rhetoric coming from our politicians in recent memory in Australia. Not from external sources, but from inside his own party.