HATE SPEECH – AUSTRALIA

Labor’s hate speech laws pass Senate in late-night vote as Nationals split from Liberals to oppose bill

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-Jan-26

The federal government’s hate speech bill has been passed by both houses of parliament, after Labor secured a deal with Opposition leader Sussan Ley regarding further changes to the legislation. Amongst other things, the legislation creates a new aggravated offence for religious or spiritual leaders who advocate violence, while people who join designated hate groups or provide them with funding could be jailed. The Senate voted 38-22 to pass the bill late on Tuesday night, despite the Nationals voting against it after all of their proposed amendments where rejected; the bill had been passed by the lower house earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the government’s legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme has been passed with the support of the Greens.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor’s hate speech laws set to pass as Ley and Albanese cut deal on bill crafted in wake of Bondi terror attack

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Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy, Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Jan-26

The National Party will seek additional protections regarding the banning of hate groups when parliament debates the federal government’s hate speech laws today. However, sources within the Liberal Party say that the legislation is likely to be passed even without the Nationals’ support, after Liberal MPs agreed to vote in favour of the revised bill. Opposition leader Sussan Ley had described the previous omnibus bill as "pretty unsalvageable", but the Coalition agreed to back the hate speech provisions after Labor accepted the need to legislate gun control laws separately and make a number of changes to the hate speech bill. Legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme is expected to be passed with the support of the Greens.

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NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Preach hate, go to prison: PM’s sermon

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Elizabeth Pike
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Jan-26

The federal government aims to pass its omnibus bill on hate speech and gun control during a special two-day sitting of parliament next week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged bipartisan support for the bill, but says he is open to "constructive suggestions" to improve it. Amongst other things, the bill is intended to target Islamic hate preachers and ban designated hate groups, with jail terms of up to 15 years for people who join or finance such groups. However, the Opposition has criticised the decision to address hate speech and a national gun buyback scheme in a single bill, contending that they are unrelated policy areas. There is also concern about an exemption from the hate speech laws if someone is merely quoting from religious texts.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor’s changes to listing hate groups will target Islamist and far-right extremists operating just inside the limits of law

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Dec-25

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the federal government’s proposed legislation will crack down on hate groups that do not currently meet the criteria for being listed as a proscribed terrorist organisation. Burke has indicated that Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network are among those that will be targeted, stating that such groups hate Australia and should not be operating in this country. He adds that both Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network "have gone right to the limits of the law" but avoided prosecution under existing hate laws. Dr Josh Roose from Deakin University says the new laws should also target individuals who operating outside of established groups and extremist online ‘influencers’.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Coalition demands Labor hate speech crackdown explicitly outlaw threats and attacks on places of worship

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Original article by Krishani Dhanji
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Jan-25

Federal parliament will resume in February, with Labor’s proposed crackdown on hate speech set to be one of the major points of discussion. Tabled in September, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus contends that the legislation will act as a deterrent to anti-Semitism and other forms of hate speech and would protect places of worship, but the Coalition wants the legislation to explicitly outlaw threats and attacks against places of worship. For her part, independent MP Allegra Spender has called on the government to include a stronger vilification offence for hateful speech in the legislation. Her eastern Sydney electorate has a large Jewish community and LGBTQ+ community, who she said have both raised concerns about the proposed legislation not doing enough.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

‘Democracy is at stake’: SOS from PM’s envoy

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Original article by Alexi Demetriadi, Bianca Farmakis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 15-Jan-25

Australia’s inaugural envoy on anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal, has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to convene a meeting of national cabinet to address the issue. Segal has called for harsher sentences and more prosecutions for hate crimes directed at Jewish Australians, arguing that the judiciary’s soft approach to sentencing is giving anti-Semites "effective impunity". Segal adds that politicians at federal and state level must take legislative action if current laws are not "up to the task". Segal notes that the recent attacks on the Jewish community are part of a "systematic pattern of intimidation" that began when no action was taken against people who targeted Jews at the Sydney Opera House on 9 October 2023.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

University of Melbourne pro-Palestine protesters endorse Israel should not exist social media post

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Original article by Suzan Delibasic
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 28-May-24

The University of Melbourne’s chancellor Jane Hansen has received a formal complaint about an Instagram post that was re-shared by pro-Palestine activists who occupied a campus building for more than a week. Palestinian-American blogger Mariam Barghouti was responsible for the original post, which stated that "Israel cannot, will not, and should not exist". This post was subsequently re-shared by the UniMelb for Palestine Instagram page. A member of the Jewish community wrote to Hansen expressing concern about the post and urging her to take immediate action, stating that the post effectively calls for the wholesale murder of nine million people in Israel.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Dutton pushes stronger stance on hate speech

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Original article by Alexi Demetriadi
The Australian – Page: 3 : 9-Jan-24

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has urged the federal government to strengthen the nation’s laws on hate speech, stating that the Coalition would fully support any such move. Dutton adds that the government should pay the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s legal costs if it goes ahead with legal action against Muslim clerics who have racially vilified Jewish people in sermons. Former ECAJ president and Holocaust survivor Nina Bassat says the existing legislation is not working; she adds that if hate speech is not prosecuted it becomes normalised and people start to think they can get away with it.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY