Dutton picked it on mandatory sentencing and wagged the dog

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has introduced mandatory minimum jail sentences for terror crimes and the display of hate symbols in a belated attempt to get back on the front foot countering the wave of antisemitic attacks.

He had been dancing to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s tune on the issue since the Coalition proposed similar laws six weeks ago. On Wednesday, he reversed Labor’s long-standing opposition to mandatory minimum jail terms and accepted the Coalition proposal.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke introduced amendments to the Hate Crimes Bill that included mandatory six-year terms for terror offences, three years for financing terrorism and a year for Nazi salutes. It is rather loose law and likely to cause ructions among civil libertarians. But politically, it has the distinct advantage of appearing to make the struggling Albanese look pro-active on the issue.

Backflips: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday reversed Labor’s long-standing opposition to automatic jail time for terrorists and people displaying Nazi symbols.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

He had to do something to regain the initiative.

Albanese’s refusal to confirm when he first learned of the discovery of a caravan full of explosives at Dural created the embarrassing impression he had been left out of the loop by the joint NSW Police/Australian Federal Police/Australian Security Intelligence Organisation investigation.

The matter was not made any clearer when AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that it was not an appropriate forum to provide information about Albanese during an ongoing investigation.

Sensing blood, the Opposition had used Albanese’s delayed briefing to further its claim that Labor had been slow to clamp down on antisemitic violence and inept in its management of domestic security, tapping into voters’ concerns about crime and social cohesion. And as every other morning seemed to bring another under-cover-of-darkness attack, Jewish groups, including the special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, warned that antisemitic acts were not being punished harshly enough.

Meanwhile, NSW Premier Chris Minns responded to the antisemitic crisis in Sydney by announcing new legislation centred on race alone following a review of hate speech laws. The changes include creation of a new criminal offence for intentionally inciting racial hatred, strengthening protections for places of worship and amending existing laws to create an aggravated offence for placing graffiti on such sites.

Just as Albanese swerved 180 degrees on Labor’s mandatory sentencing policy, Minns is defying expert legal advice on his new legislation.

Dutton picked the issue well and is pushing the prime minister’s backflip to remind the nation he is the one shaping national policy. He is also maintaining pressure, pointing his finger at Albanese apparently being kept in the dark by Minns and asking for an independent inquiry into the communications between security agencies, police and the government on the caravan plot.

Albanese may have lost some credibility with his change of heart on mandatory sentencing, but was he taking a risk? He was able to get the new law through against ALP policy because nobody in Labor would stand up and oppose mandatory sentencing for Nazis. Everybody in Labor knew he desperately needed the win.

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