Religious groups split on changes to hate-speech laws

A proposal to criminalise hate speech in NSW has split religious organisations, with Australia’s peak Jewish body welcoming it as long overdue, but the Anglican and Catholic churches warning it could have unintended consequences of criminalising expressions of doctrine.

Following the string of violent antisemitic attacks which have shocked Sydney, Premier Chris Minns has flagged plans to overhaul existing racial vilification law to create a new criminal offence for hate speech despite a recent NSW Law Reform Commission review recommending against it.

Premier Chris Minns has flagged plans to overhaul existing racial vilification laws.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Changes to section 93z of the Crimes Act have long been controversial. Last year, after a nine-month review, the Law Reform Commission warned terms such as “hatred” were imprecise and can mean different things to different people.

That recommendation came after concerns were raised by legal and religious groups, including the Anglican and Catholic churches, who fear such a reform could impact on their right to preach Christian values.

Michael Stead, the Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, said his church was “deeply outraged and appalled” by the spate of attacks against the Jewish community, but cautioned against the “unintended consequences” of such a law.

“The problem is other forms of speech some people categorise as hate speech, which we would categorise as an expression of religious doctrine,” he said.

“That has been our concern: the argument that when someone expresses a Christian view of marriage, that is hate speech towards someone in a marriage which is inconsistent with the Christian definition of marriage.”

In NSW, section 93z makes it a criminal offence to incite violence based on someone’s race, religion or sexuality.

However, inciting hatred or serious contempt is dealt with under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. While it is unlawful, it is not a criminal offence, and is dealt with via a civil tribunal.

Minns has argued the civil route places an unfair burden on individuals to pursue vilification matters, and has flagged his intention to introduce legislation making hate speech a criminal offence.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has launched legal action against Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad.Credit:

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has welcomed Minns’ proposal while lamenting that it was forced to pursue a controversial Islamic preacher through the civil courts.

In October the ECAJ filed Federal Court proceedings against Wissam Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, alleging that he had breached the Racial Discrimination Act during speeches made at the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown in 2023.

The ECAJ alleged Haddad described the Jewish community as “vile” and “treacherous”, and claimed “their hands are in everywhere; in business … in the media”.

ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said criminal sanctions for hate speech were “long overdue”.

“Those individuals or communities who are the targets of hateful speech on the basis of race, religion or other personal attributes should not be left to fend for themselves,” he said.

“Such behaviour does not simply involve a wrong done by one citizen to another for which a private legal remedy might be appropriate.

“Hate speech of this kind has an inherent propensity for violence that tears at the social fabric and disturbs the peace of the whole community. Criminal sanctions are therefore the appropriate response.”

Haddad, who is fighting the civil case against him and argues the comments were “taken out of context”, said it was “pointless to make a fuss about it now”.

“This is a fact: the authorities have looked into what I have said and they found no grounds for me to be charged under NSW hate-speech laws,” he said.

Haddad said that if changes to criminalise hate speech were introduced, they “should benefit everybody equally” and “squeeze down” on people who “insult Muslims [or] Allah”.

In a statement the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said while it commended Minns for “seeking to take decisive action” against rising antisemitism, the risk of introducing a criminal offence for inciting hatred was “the variety of opinions as to what constitutes ‘hatred’.”

“There are some who would want to define it so narrowly as to make the law redundant, while others would want it so broad that any form of critique or disagreement would be classed as ‘hate speech’,” the Archdiocese said.

One option for the government would be to carve out religious expression, but that would raise its own issues.

At the same time as some religious groups warn against such a change, LGBTQ organisations and the influential independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich called on the government not to carve out minority groups from any change to the law.

“Will the premier be extending these strengthened provisions to everyone impacted by hate speech in NSW, including LGBTIQ+ communities experiencing attacks and assaults?” Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said.

“It’s important to bring the community together to tackle hate and prejudice with laws that protect all of us, rather than creating a hierarchy of protections.”

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