‘Complex’ hate speech bill may collapse without support
Labor’s sweeping anti-vilification and gun law reforms are set to collapse as crucial support from the Greens or coalition has not been secured.
Labor’s response to Australia’s worst terror attack may be in turmoil as the opposition and Greens won’t accept sweeping hate speech laws in their current form.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley opposes the draft bill, calling it “pretty unsalvageable” as it didn’t explicitly criminalise phrases like “globalise the Intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
Asked whether the legislation should also specifically reference Islamophobia, Ms Ley on Friday said “we’re not talking about that”.
“We’re talking about anti-Semitism and radical Islamic extremism and the rise of ISIS,” she said on the Today program.
The Greens also don’t support the “complex” draft, but will work with the government to expand protections to disabled people, people of other faiths and the LGTBQI community.
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Greens leader Larissa Waters aired concerns the laws could be weaponised to shut down legitimate political protest.
“They could have huge unintended consequences for freedom of speech, for political expression,” she told ABC RN.
“If you want to address hate, you can’t just criminalise your way out of it.”
Ley for weeks demanded Labor to rush and adopt Australia’s envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jilian Segal’s report, which included proposed anti-vilification laws, prompting Labor to call her “hypocritical” when it recalled parliament early to debate them on Monday.
The support of either the coalition or the Greens will be needed to pass the legislation through the Senate.
A broad range of legal experts, Jewish groups and religious leaders have also criticised the bill, claiming it is too rushed and broad.
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In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry scrutinising the changes, the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said it would support a “short delay” in the bill’s passage for further review and refinement.
“A possible additional advantage of such a delay would be to provide an opportunity to maximise the national political consensus in favour of new legislation to address racial hatred and vilification, which AIJAC views as also highly desirable,” the submission said.
The group recommends splitting the parts of the bill dealing with firearms into separate pieces of legislation to ensure disagreements over gun reform do not hinder the passage of new hate speech laws.
The bill includes measures such as cracking down on hate preachers, introducing hate speech and racial vilification offences, in addition to creating a national gun buyback scheme.
The Nationals have indicated their opposition to gun reform on behalf of farmers.
Coalition members will meet virtually on Friday afternoon to discuss concerns held over the bill and provide feedback on the position that should be taken.
The talks will be led by Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, a member of the parliamentary committee that held the inquiry into the bill earlier this week.
Labor senator Raff Ciccone, the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, is drafting the report as he attempts to maintain the tradition of the group’s bipartisanship.
A Labor caucus meeting will be held on Monday morning.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has called on the coalition to vote in favour of the legislation, urging it to “not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good”.
The government faced relentless pressure from the coalition in the days and weeks following the terrorist attack to recall parliament early, with the opposition now criticising the bill as rushed.
-with AAP
