Coalition vows to ‘hold government to account’ over misinformation bill

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman says Labor’s proposed misinformation laws should be ‘ripped to pieces and put in the bin’.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman.

Labor’s proposed misinformation laws should be “ripped to pieces and put in the bin”, says opposition communications spokesman David Coleman, with the Coalition resolving to officially oppose the bill.

Mr Coleman said Liberal and Nationals MPs had strongly ­rejected the bill, with the partyroom agreeing that the Albanese government’s attempt to combat online misinformation had gone “horribly wrong”.

The proposal, which would see the media watchdog gain new powers to set “binding standards” around mis­information and disinformation, and fine online platforms millions of dollars, has been criticised by tech giants and legal experts for undermining freedom of speech.

“We think this misinformation bill should be torn up and the government has got this horribly wrong, and we very strongly oppose it,” Mr Coleman said.

“The government is the one that’s embarked on this process, and it’s really up to them to ­explain how they deal with this mess that they’ve created.”

Mr Coleman has raised concerns about the broad language contained in the bill, including the subjective nature of information that “causes harm” and the fact it will capture content that is unintentionally misleading.

“Freedom of speech is just so fundamental to our democracy, and the Coalition will always fight for it,” he said. “There’s just such a wide range of problems with this bill. How the government thought it was a good idea to publish this bill just defies any logic.”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland accused ­Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of playing politics by taking a stand against the proposed bill and “going soft on big tech at the expense of keeping Australians safe”.

“Almost 70 per cent of Australians are concerned about misinformation, and yet the Liberals and Nationals have officially ruled themselves out of this ­important area of policy despite there being no legislation before the parliament to consider,” Ms Rowland said.

On Tuesday, the Coalition ­revealed it would support the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill, which will ban the trade of Nazi memorabilia but not the Hitler salute.

The opposition is also mobilising against Aboriginal cultural heritage laws. Nationals leader David Littleproud told Coalition MPs that farmers and were concerned about the Albanese government’s plan to legislate a stand-alone national framework for Indigenous cultural heritage protections.