Even as we were putting the finishing touches to our editorial last week, in which we ‘joined the dots’ between the Islamist terrorism that has destroyed Australian lives all the way back to the 2001 Jerusalem murder of Melbourne-born Malki Roth, the murderers were at work in the streets of Paris. Yet again, Australians felt the force of their bullets, none more so than Maisie Dubosarsky, whose boyfriend Simon Fieschi, the web-master at Charlie Hebdo, still lies in hospital, his spine injured and lung punctured.

Ironically, Maisie, who is the granddaughter of our columnist, Peter Coleman, had that very day given Peter a Charb cartoon (see Australian Notes) which we have used as this week’s cover.

In this issue we explore the aftermath of Paris, and in particular, the ramifications. The fact that millions now proudly declare ‘Je Suis Charlie’ – including pampered Hollywood starlets who would have sued the magazine at the drop of a hat had it turned its sights on them – is a pleasing reaffirmation of widespread commitment to freedom, at least in principle. But at a deeper level, the events in Paris have thrust the theoretical arguments of the past and put them to the test in a deadly and terrifying experiment. Just how committed is the West – really, with hand on heart – to free speech?

Cartoonist Bill Leak neatly summed up the dilemma (some might call it blatant hypocrisy) of those who demand free speech ‘so long as it doesn’t offend anyone’. While TV chat shows debate whether Charlie Hebdo would even be allowed to publish here, let alone survive in the marketplace, let us not forget that the last two governments have sought to curtail, rather than to protect, our precious freedom of expression.

Under Labor, both Nicola Roxon and Stephen Conroy outrageously sought to restrict the citizen’s right to free thought and speech, both in the press and in everyday life. Under the current government, mainly in the name of appeasing the Muslim community, the commitment to amend 18C was ignobly ditched.

Tony Abbott claims the time is not right to redress 18C. But if not now, when? ‘Offend’, ‘insult’ and ‘humiliate’ must go. 18C must be amended in honour of all those Australians who have perished at the hands of terrorists. The boyfriend of an Australian girl lies in a French hospital because he was brave enough to believe in the ideals of freedom of expression that our politicians, it appears, merely pay lip service to.

As one letter writer to the Australian pointed out, the equivalent sentiment in Australia to ‘Je Suis Charlie’ is ‘Je Suis Andrew Bolt’. George Brandis was also correct when he (somewhat clumsily) pointed out that ‘bigots have rights too’. Indeed, much of the material in Charlie Hebdo is offensive, insulting, humiliating and, yes, grotesquely bigoted. Like it or not, that’s the price of freedom. The alternative is a bullet in the back if you happen to offend the wrong person (or prophet).

McTernan returns

Please don’t have a heart attack. No, he’s not coming back here. Even the Australian Labor Party aren’t quite that silly, (although you never know.) But it appears that the British Labour Party have once more fallen for the spin and media manipulation in which John McTernan excels and for which he prides himself. Ed Milliband has appointed the hapless half-Scotsman to the role of Chief of Staff to newly appointed Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, at a time when Labour look likely to lose around 75% of their current seats north of the border in the upcoming May 7 election.

No worries. Mr Murphy can look forward to some highly imaginative stunts, honed to perfection over the three years Mr McTernan led former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to a, er, stunning revival and, ah, near-certain victory. Perhaps Mr McTernan can dig deep into his well-worn bag of tricks and organize a demonstration by a motley group of Scottish independence activists outside a restaurant where David Cameron is dining, after first winding them up to fever pitch that Cameron intends to dismantle the Scottish parliament brick by brick. Or perhaps Mr McTernan could get his new boss Jim to undergo a quick sex change, re-emerge as Julia Murphy, and deliver an inspirational ‘I will not be lectured on misogyny by this man’ routine to a standing ovation and global YouTube adoration.

Best of all, we can rest assured that Mr McTernan will use all his undoubted media skills to do his utmost to promote his number one client: himself. As for poor old Jim, well…