Opposition mounts over Allan’s new hate laws

Premier Jacinta Allan is facing a Jewish backlash over her signature policy to combat antisemitism, with community groups lobbying the Victorian government to ditch a broad “genuine political purpose” defence inserted into its proposed expansion of anti-vilification laws.

The Liberal party room will meet on Tuesday to formalise its likely opposition to the Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion Bill, which is designed to make serious vilification a criminal offence punishable by jail.

Premier Jacinta Allan.Credit: Justin McManus

The government this week brought debate forward on the proposed laws against the backdrop of a series of attacks on Jewish-owned properties and counterterrorism investigations into the Adass Israel synagogue fire in Melbourne and discovery of an explosives-packed caravan in Sydney.

On Monday night, the presidents of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Zionism Victoria, the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry wrote to all MPs urging them to remove the “genuine political purpose” defence.

“While we welcome the proposed vilification reforms in the Bill, we are concerned by its proposal that extreme and criminal conduct which incites very serious hatred should be legal if it is done for a ‘genuine political purpose’,” reads the letter obtained by The Age.

“We will be urging parliamentarians to resolve these concerns so that the bill as amended may be passed. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure Victoria has effective protections against hate speech.”

Representatives from Jewish community groups will meet with Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny on Thursday to press their concerns.

Liberal frontbencher David Southwick, Victoria’s most prominent Jewish state MP, questioned the insertion of the political defence, which he said was done without public consultation.

He fears that if the defence becomes law, it may have the unintended consequence of emboldening the antisemitic hate speech Allan is vowing to stamp out.

“I don’t see how this legislation, as it is currently drafted, offers any protection against serious vilification. The ‘genuine political purpose’ defence is so broad it almost makes the proposed laws meaningless,” Southwick said.

Liberal frontbencher David Southwick fears the political defence could embolden hate speech.Credit: Arsineh Houspian

“If anything, passing this bill without amendments could make a bad situation worse and green-light some of the recent hate that we have seen against the Jewish community.”

The state government has said the defence is necessary to “protect political communication and allow everyone to engage in genuine and robust debate”.

It would be potentially available to anyone charged with inciting hatred or contempt of a Jewish person – or a gay, transgender or disabled person – but not charged with the more serious offence of threatening physical harm.

Allan has repeatedly referenced the legislation when questioned about her government’s response to a surge in antisemitism following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, atrocities and Israel’s war in Gaza.

Speaking on Monday, she said the new anti-vilification framework would “strengthen police powers against hate”.

“This is a bill that is making hate a crime – addressing hate like the cancer of antisemitism that we are seeing spread throughout our communities,” she said.

Political leaders nationwide have been under growing pressure to act in response to the recent wave of antisemitic attacks and threats, but doing so is proving complicated.

The Albanese government’s proposed hate speech laws are expected to be debated this week, but there is a crossbench push led by independent MP Allegra Spender to toughen them by criminalising serious vilification. NSW is also seeking to urgently strengthen its hate speech laws, a move that has split religious organisations.

The aftermath of the Adass Israel synagogue fire in December.

The Victorian legislation, if passed, would expand the anti-vilification framework, which currently lists race and religion as protected attributes, to include disability, gender identity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation and personal association. It would also make serious vilification – such as incitement of hatred or physical threats – a criminal offences punishable by up to five years’ jail.

Allan goaded the state opposition for failing to take a clear position on the legislation since its introduction to parliament in November.

Shadow cabinet met on Monday to consider the legislation and will brief the Liberal party room on Tuesday morning ahead of the first parliamentary sitting day of the year.

Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien confirmed the issue was discussed by shadow cabinet.

“All members will be given the opportunity to discuss and put their views,” he said. “We’ll have more to say after that.”

The state government’s decision to bring forward the legislation is likely to trigger a chaotic resumption of parliament, as community and interest groups race to influence MPs on a proposed law they did not expect to be debated for another two weeks.

The Islamic Council of Victoria, an organisation that has staunchly supported the pro-Palestinian protest movement, has also raised concerns about the breadth of the political-purpose defence.

President Adel Salman said in a submission to the government in October that he recognised the need to protect legitimate political expression.

“‘Political purposes’ often involve public conduct,” he wrote. “Misuse of this defence has the potential to allow individuals openly preaching or inciting hate to evade responsibility by hiding behind a claimed political purpose.”

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria has previously warned that anti-Jewish hate speech is easily couched in political language.

“It is noticeable that local bigots will substitute the word ‘Zionist’ for the word ‘Jew’ to somehow make hate speech acceptable,” the council’s chief executive, Naomi Levine, said late last year.

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