Hate, gun reforms set to become law after talks
Labor will introduce reforms in response to the Bondi terror attack after clinching a last minute deal with the Liberals, but the Nationals are yet to agree.
Source: Sussan Ley
Major hate speech reforms in response to the Bondi massacre are expected to pass parliament after Labor reached an agreement with the Coalition.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland confirmed the government will on Tuesday introduce the draft laws to the lower house after “constructive engagement”, indicating a deal had been struck after meetings late into Monday.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is expected to announce the Coalition’s position later on Tuesday, with the proposal heading to the party room.
“I don’t want to pre-empt any of those conversations, and particularly since they have been undertaken in good faith,” Rowland told ABC Radio.
“I will point out that the removal of the serious vilification provisions do mean that these remaining provisions in the prohibited hate groups section do need to do a lot of work.”
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said he wants the legislation to pass on the same day, and that he would walk away from reforms in this term of parliament if there wasn’t enough support.
Labor originally planned to introduce the gun and hate speech reforms in a single package. It split the bill at the weekend, due to fierce opposition to proposed racial vilification laws from the Coalition and the Greens.
After Albanese and Ley discussed the legislation on Monday morning, Liberal MPs met later to formalise their position ahead of a joint partyroom meeting with their Coalition partner the Nationals on Tuesday.
Liberal sources said on Monday night their party had put forward a series of technical amendments that had been accepted by Labor.
But opposition education spokesman Julian Leeser, who is Jewish, wouldn’t confirm the details.
“We want to see extremist organisations busted up. We want to see people brought to justice,” he said.
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“That’s what we want to see. We want to see powers given to authorities to deal with those issues.”
Nationals MPs still have concerns about the potential impact of the changes on free speech, with Queensland senator Matt Canavan raising issues with the framework for hate group listing, arguing its too broad.
Canavan said he could not support the bill in its current form.
“Giving a power to a government to ban an entire group is an extremely serious change to our laws,” he told ABC Radio.
The bill tightens the definition of a preacher or religious leader, introducing mandatory two-year reviews of the legislation and requiring consultation with the opposition leader when listing an extremist organisation.
The Greens have said they will not back the hate speech legislation due to its possible effect on political commentary, including protests, leaving the Coalition as the only viable partner to pass the bill through the Senate.
While provisions making it illegal to vilify someone based on their race have been dropped, the watered-down legislation would still allow the government to effectively outlaw groups that promote hatred, likely including neo-Nazi organisation the National Socialist Network and radical Islamist collective Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The proposed laws would also allow the government to refuse or revoke the visas of people who hold extremist views.
-with AAP
