Brandis flags racial act changes mid-year

Attorney-General George Brandis has dispelled doubts about the Abbott government's intention to change a controversial section of the Racial Discrimination Act.

A number of coalition MPs, including the first indigenous member of the lower house Ken Wyatt, and the prime minister's key indigenous adviser want the government to retain Section 18C which makes it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person on the basis of their race.

Mr Wyatt warned colleagues this week he might cross the floor of parliament and vote against any change to the section.

Senator Brandis on Wednesday insisted the government was seeking to strike the right balance between freedom of speech and the need to protect people from racial vilification.

"The two are not inconsistent objectives," he told the Senate.

He reminded senators there was no commonwealth law that proscribed racial vilification, taking a swipe at those who made commentary about laws they had never read.

Legislative changes to the act will be introduced towards the middle of 2014, Senator Brandis said.

Section 18C was used successfully to prosecute conservative commentator Andrew Bolt after he wrote about "light-skinned" Aborigines.