Antisemitic chants could be banned under new hate speech laws

Antisemitic phrases chanted by pro-Palestine protesters near the Sydney Opera House following the October 7 terrorist attacks could be banned under hate speech laws being drafted by the federal government.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government had not decided whether people should face jail time for vilifying others based on race, sexuality, gender, disability or religion, but that the government was looking “very closely” at penalties to ensure the laws are effective.

As the Greens prepare to pressure Labor in parliament this week over the issue of Palestinian statehood, the party’s leader, Adam Bandt, came under fire from Jewish groups for refusing to say whether he backed a two-state solution or that Israel should be a homeland for the Jewish people.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the rise in antisemitism was “completely unacceptable”.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This masthead reported on Sunday that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is drafting a hate speech bill that would carry criminal rather than civil penalties, and is likely to cover deliberate acts that intend to incite violence or cause harm.

As the government trials age verification technology for social media, gambling and pornography sites, Rowland said she supported age limits for social media, while adding there was a “live debate” over whether the age should be set at 16 or younger.

She also said that she hoped Nine, owner of this masthead, adhered to “appropriate processes” in responding to allegations that its recently departed television news boss, Darren Wick, behaved inappropriately towards female staff.

Both the media and politics stood out as fields that needed to lift standards of behaviour, she said.

The Australian revealed this week that Wick had left the media company in March with a near-million-dollar golden handshake.

“Well, I would think that all workplaces need to adhere to their policies in relation to how these matters are handled, and I would say this in the media, the media sector has been highlighted in recent years as an area that needs improvement,” she told Sky News.

Rowland said the government was determined to act to strengthen protections against hate speech, adding that she believed the issue “should be above politics”.

Asked whether phrases such as “f--- the Jews”, which were chanted at the Sydney Opera House after the October 7 attacks in Israel, could be covered by the hate speech laws, Rowland told Sky News: “Potentially, because if that satisfied the criteria for hate speech, then this would operate in any scenario.”

Rowland said she could not reveal whether the government was considering prison sentences as a potential penalty for hate speech, but added: “I will say that the area of penalties is one that has been examined very closely in terms of ensuring that these laws are effective.”

Rowland said she had received a distressing phone call from a friend whose child attends Mount Scopus, a leading Jewish school in Melbourne where threatening graffiti was found on the front fence on Saturday.

“I’ve never had someone on the phone, a friend like that, so distressed about what’s happened,” Rowland said. “She said, ‘My grandparents and my husband’s grandparents fled the Holocaust, and now we are here in Australia seeing this.’ So it is completely unacceptable.”

Pressed on whether he supported independent Israeli and Palestinian states sitting side by side, Bandt told the ABC’s Insiders that “our view is that Israelis and Palestinians are both equally entitled to live in peace and security, and exercise their rights to self-determination in accordance with international law”.

Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts said the Greens had “nothing of substance” to say about ending the Israel-Palestine conflict. “Anyone who is serious about peace knows that requires a two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel,” he said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said that while the Greens had been “crystal clear” in supporting a Palestinian state, Bandt had not been able to express support for Israel’s right to exist.

Bandt later said on social media that the Greens would move a motion in parliament this week calling for Australia to recognise Palestine as a state.

“Let’s see how Labor votes,” he said.

Rowland said that “the breakdown in social cohesion is one that this government takes very seriously ... and we make it clear that as a government, we will not tolerate the kind of hatred and abuse on the basis of people’s race or religion”.

Rowland added: “I think there should be age limits on social media. Whether 16 is the correct age or not is something that is the subject of live debate.”

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed calls to ban children from registering social media accounts until they are 16, saying that too much time spent online was damaging children’s mental health.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim.Credit: NSWJBD

Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said: “Time and again we have seen gross examples of anti-Jewish hate speech on our campuses and streets, and online, go unpunished. No one has been prosecuted and there is no deterrence.

“Only tough Commonwealth legislation can provide the consistency of approach across Australia that is needed to convey a strong message against hate speech.”

Rodney Croome, spokesman for LGBTIQA+ advocacy group Just.Equal Australia, said: “We welcome the reports that hate crime penalties will be extended, but the devil will be in the detail.

“Will vilification on the grounds of gender identity and sex characteristics be included, and will the kind of protection currently provided under 18C [of the Racial Discrimination Act] be made available for LGBTIQA+ people?”

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