Hate speech laws rammed through NSW parliament within hours

The NSW government is seeking to push contentious hate speech legislation through parliament within 24 hours despite facing resistance from faith groups who warn it could erode social cohesion and leave sections of the community more marginalised.

As Attorney-General Michael Daley introduced the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025 into parliament on Tuesday, Rabbi Benjamin Elton from the Great Synagogue in Sydney called for “all marginalised and vulnerable groups” to be protected by the law, including the LGBTQ community.

Chief Rabbi Benjamin Elton from the Great Synagogue in Sydney.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The state government has scrambled to pull together the legislation after a spate of violent public attacks on the Jewish community across summer. Introduced to parliament last week, the first element strengthened protections for places of worship, while the second makes incitement of hatred a criminal offence.

The bill will establish a new section, 93ZAA of the Crimes Act, making it a crime to intentionally and publicly incite hatred towards another person, or group of people, on the grounds of race. Individuals would face maximum penalties of two years’ imprisonment, fines of up to $11,000, or both, while corporations would face fines of $55,000. The new section includes an exception for directly referencing religious texts during religious teachings.

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

Introducing the bill to parliament, Daley conceded many stakeholders were unhappy. “Our government acknowledges hate speech based on other attributes … including religion, sexual orientation or gender identity occurs and condemns it,” he said.

“We will continue to look at how laws in NSW can be improved to address hate speech based on other attributes.

“Criminalising hate speech on the grounds of all attributes that are protected by civil vilification regimes is challenging and complex. We recognise there are further issues to work through in this space, but we must respond to the immediate and pressing issue of racially based hate speech that faces our community now.”

Lower house MPs were expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday, just a day after it was introduced. It will proceed to the upper house at the soonest time possible, expected to be Thursday.

The Coalition was likely to support the bill but might seek amendments depending on discussions on Tuesday afternoon, he said.

Greens justice spokesperson Sue Higginson accused the government of trying to “morally bully” the parliament into accepting the laws without the proper processes.

NSW Premier Chris Minns delivers a speech on antisemitism in parliament last week.Credit: NSW government

A Liberal MP, not authorised to speak publicly on the party’s deliberations, questioned why the government was pushing the legislation through parliament given they could have introduced it last week.

Faith groups involved in the consultation say the bill is flawed. Faith NSW chief executive Murray Norman called for the laws to be applied “uniformly – without favour or prejudice”, saying this was essential for maintaining social harmony given Australia was steeped in the idea of equal treatment under the law.

“This commitment is vital not only for justice but also for maintaining the social cohesion that unites us,” he said.

Australian National Imams Council senior adviser Bilal Rauf said the proposed amendment to section 93Z, expanding the protections against hate speech based only on race, would not provide protection to faith communities more generally.

“Further, it conveys to the community (and society at large) that some hate is more reprehensible than other hate. Put differently, constraining the scope of the offence to race has the effect of privileging some communities over others,” he said.

“This sends the – surely unintended – message that it is unacceptable to hate someone because of their race, but acceptable (or at least more tolerable) to hate someone because of their religion.”

Rauf said the overall impact of the legislation could make some communities “feel further marginalised and ignored while enhancing the concern expressed for other communities, thereby creating division”.

This was a concerning development during a “surge in anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia”, he said.

With LGBTQ communities excluded, Elton – whose synagogue was the alleged target of a caravan filled with mining explosives – said it was essential “all marginalised and vulnerable groups are protected by the law.

“As a member of the Jewish community I know that very well, especially at the moment. I hope that appropriate and effective laws against hatred directed towards LGBT+ individuals will be enacted and enforced so that every member of our society feels and is safe,” he said.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said the “unprecedented campaign of domestic terrorism” targeted at the Jewish community began with “words of hate” which normalised the violence.

“We welcome the government’s plans to respond to this emergency situation by urgently outlawing hate speech which is so egregious that it directly presages the violence which has erupted on our streets,” he said.

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