‘Stop it at its source’: Hate-speech laws back on table after unanimous vote

Parliament will be asked to toughen laws against hate speech after a unanimous vote to condemn antisemitism, as Jewish and equality groups back plans to make it a criminal offence to promote hatred.

The tougher laws are on the agenda while Labor and the Coalition consider amendments to a hate speech bill they want to pass within days after a growing number of attacks on the Jewish community.

Independent Allegra Spender is seeking support for her amendment from both the government and opposition.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Independent MP Allegra Spender is negotiating the changes with the major parties in the hope they will accept a new provision in the hate speech bill to add to the penalties on those who incite hatred against people on the basis of religion, race, disability, gender, sexual orientation or other attributes.

Her amendment would criminalise a public act, done with intent, to promote hatred towards individuals or groups on the basis of these attributes.

Equality Australia chief Anna Brown joined Spender in Parliament House on Tuesday to argue for the independent MP’s amendments to prohibit serious vilification.

“The laws currently before the federal parliament are a welcome step, but they will only prevent hate if they stop it at its source,” she said.

“We’ve seen all too clearly that hate speech can lead to real-world impacts, and violence, and real and lasting harm.”

Jewish students also backed the amendment after the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said on Monday the government’s bill was too weak because it did not address the promotion of hatred.

“We’ve seen the rise in incidents this year on our streets, on our campuses, and university campuses which were a safe space are not,” said Danielle Tischmann, the national co-president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students.

“Antisemitism and all forms of vilification are not a political issue and we hope laws like these will be able to combat the disgusting acts of hatred we have seen.”

Spender acknowledged the need to negotiate the wording of her amendment because of the concerns about free speech, a key point for Coalition MPs over the past decade in their bid to repeal the protections against vilification in Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

The government and opposition have not indicated their positions on Spender’s amendment, which is yet to be debated in parliament, but Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus chose last year to issue the draft bill with sanctions on those who incite violence, drawing criticism that the draft was too weak.

Dreyfus said on Tuesday he hoped the parliament would back the bill unanimously.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the existing provisions against urging violence, in Section 80.2 of the commonwealth criminal code, were “completely useless” and had resulted in no convictions over 15 years.

The debate on hate speech will follow the unanimous vote for a motion on Tuesday to condemn antisemitism. Spender moved the motion and gained support from Labor, the Coalition, the Greens and independent MPs.

The motion said the House “deplores the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism across Australia – including violent attacks on synagogues, schools, homes, and childcare centres” and it said the House “unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms”. It also said the House “resolves that all parliamentarians will work constructively together to combat the scourge of antisemitism in Australia”.

The motion was passed without a formal vote to record the tally because nobody spoke against it, meaning it passed “on the voices” in the chamber.

The Coalition criticised Labor, however, for preventing the opposition from amending the motion, but most crossbenchers voted with Labor and the Greens to override the Coalition’s concerns.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton condemned antisemitism in their speeches, while Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser blamed Labor for being too weak in response to the threat to Jewish communities.

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