I love free speech. Honestly. Free speech allows us to express our vision, our opinions, our dissent. Without it, this site and many more like it wouldn't exist. But more importantly free speech grants us the ability to publicly express our dissent towards leaders without fear of imprisonment or retaliation of any kind.
But realistically, when Senators Nettle and Brown interrupted the President Bush's address on October 13, 2003 they were in violation of parliamentary procedure. To keep Australian Parliament, or the United States Congress at that matter, from becoming a shouting match, certain rules must be follow to keep order. When the Senators broke these rules in an exercise of civil disobedience many viewed as grandstanding, Speaker Neil Andrew incited the censure of removal from parliament. And after the President's address the one day suspension was invoked by a vote of the quorum.
The President responded to the outburst proclaimed with a bit of a chuckle, "I love free speech." But what did the President mean by this? Both of the Senators are stringent opponents of the War on Iraq, which they vocalized in part of their interruption. Bush's response was almost to say, We enjoy free speech, and soon, so will the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein regularly imprisoned and executed dissidents. When he seized power men who were rivals or simply opposed his leadership were dragged from Iraqi Parliament, and many were never seen again.
This phrase, "I love free speech," with his chuckle and smirk as the Australian Senators were being led out had a ring of irony and left a bad taste in people's mouths. It was not taken the way the President had intended. Opponents of the President, who feel the freedom of speech and other civil liberties may be on the decline, saw a comparison with Saddam Hussein, though much more mild, and his tyrannical hold on Iraq.