Green light for hate-speech ban as Albanese comes under fire on religious discrimination

Australians will be promised new legal protection from extreme hate speech despite a political impasse over reforms to religious freedom and sex discrimination, as Labor blames the Coalition for wrecking an attempt to make a bipartisan deal on the broader changes.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will bring forward the tougher law on hate speech, splitting it from the dispute over the religious discrimination package, in a move that has been backed by church leaders.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The plans also include new laws against “doxxing” to make it a criminal offence to reveal someone’s personal information in a malicious way without their consent.

But the government is being strongly criticised by crossbenchers, the Greens, the Coalition, church groups and equality campaigners for airing plans to shelve the religious discrimination laws unless it can be sure of a bipartisan deal to pass the changes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the religious discrimination laws at the last election in a bid to resolve years of argument over the rights of faith-based schools to sack teachers and turn away students over questions of faith. Under existing law, religious schools have an exemption from the Sex Discrimination Act so they can refuse to employ gay teachers and can expel transgender students.

Albanese added two new issues to the agenda in February after heated disputes over the war in Gaza and concerns about antisemitism and Islamophobia, saying he wanted laws against hate speech as well as against doxxing.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese told parliament on Wednesday the government had two draft bills, the Religious Discrimination Act and amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, but would not put them through parliament unless he could be sure of a bipartisan deal.

He ruled out another parliamentary inquiry into the issues and said he had to be sure of bipartisan agreement because there was no way to get the changes through the Senate unless Labor had support from the Coalition or the Greens.

“We will work with everyone, including the crossbenchers, on these issues,” he said, in response to a question from independent MP Allegra Spender.

“I have said, though, that we wouldn’t go through a parliamentary committee process. Since 2016, there have been at least 10 inquiries, there have been over 260 hearings and consultations, there have been over 70,000 submissions to committees.

“I’m up for progressing forward on the basis of a bipartisan position, and I hope that that can be achieved. If not, then that will be of course a decision for this parliament as well.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Albanese of abandoning an election promise to update the law, but the prime minister told parliament that the Coalition “blew things up” on the weekend when Coalition shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash attacked the looming changes.

Dreyfus said last month the law against hate speech would be added to the religious discrimination package.

The new position is to bring forward the hate speech protections in the coming months to assure community groups they will gain stronger protection against antisemitism and Islamophobia and other threats.

The law against doxxing will be part of broader changes to privacy laws that have been in train for months, amid heightened concern after this masthead revealed the malicious release of personal information of Jewish community members.

While Dreyfus has not released draft legislation on religious discrimination, he is expected to release an Australian Law Reform Commission report on the issue on Thursday afternoon, adding new detail to the reform options.

Asked several times on Wednesday if he planned to shelve the religious discrimination changes, Dreyfus said he was seeking a bipartisan outcome.

The previous government sought to change the discrimination laws but failed twice because it did not want to act on the treatment of transgender students and faced objections from Labor, the Greens and the crossbench.

Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who crossed the floor against the previous government to block its changes in early 2022, said she was disappointed Labor was not acting.

“Kicking the can down the road is not helpful to people who want some certainty around these issues,” she told ABC Radio National on Wednesday morning.

Independent senator David Pocock is meeting church groups and equality campaigners on Wednesday and said the government could win support in the upper house if it wanted to increase the protection for people on the basis of their sexuality or gender.

“The reality is that there is a Labor government and there is a progressive senate and the community wants strong action on a range of issues that the Coalition at the moment seems unwilling to give,” he said.

“So I’d love to see the government show us what they’re planning. We can consult and see where that lands.”

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