Hate speech laws face hurdle amid alarm over detail
Faith group leaders are calling for a vote on hate speech reforms to be pushed back, saying the “rushed” time frame prevents proper scrutiny.
Source: Andrew Hastie
Christian and Muslim church leaders have raised serious concerns with hate speech legislation drafted in response to the Bondi terror attack.
The Coalition has also criticised the bill in its current form, with leader Sussan Ley claiming it wouldn’t eradicate antisemitism or suppress Islamic extremism.
The controversial legislation will be debated on Monday when parliament returns early following the December 14 massacre at Bondi Beach.
Religious leaders fronted a parliamentary inquiry held on Wednesday.
Anglican Bishop Michael Stead warned that the bill could be expanded to claim Christian teaching caused serious harm, leading to a Christian organisation being listed as a hate group.
He said the reform created a “minefield of definitions” about hate and that the bill included a retrospective element in relation to banned groups.
“I’ve got particular concerns about the definition of what is a hate crime,” he told the inquiry on Wednesday.
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“Defining something which is not a hate crime to be a hate crime, just so that we can list the group, seems to me entirely inappropriate.”
Anglican Bishop Michael Stead appeared via video at the inquiry on Wednesday. Photo: AAP
Stead said the bill put an “unwarranted limitation” on freedom of thought, conscience and belief. He called for its debate to be delayed so it could be properly scrutinised.
Australian National Imams Council President Sheikh Shadi Alsuleiman said the legislation created “serious legal uncertainty” by exposing past lawful speech to new penalties.
“This contradicts fundamental principles of the legality and places religious leaders whose sermons are often public [and] recorded under ongoing retrospective risk,” he said.
“Taking together, these features disproportionately burdens the Australian Muslim community.”
Alsuleiman also said the changes should be delayed by at least a month because it was unreasonable to consider all the implications in just a week.
“Such a bill is rushed and needs to be scrutinised and given more time for consultation and to get this right,” he said.
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Under the changes, hate speech and racial vilification offences will be introduced, with a defence for people quoting directly from a religious text.
The bill “sets a principle-based test for conduct and speech that incites racial hatred towards another person or group”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said he would vote against the reform, which he called an “attack on our basic democratic freedoms”, as well as freedom of religion and conscience.
“Those three freedoms are fundamental to any democratic society,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.
“They’re hard won, and they’ve served Australians well for more than 100 years. This bill will reduce them, and that’s why I’m voting no.”
Hastie also accused Albanese of “showing absolute contempt for normal parliamentary process” with the bill’s size.
Albanese announced a royal commission after weeks of pressure from the Coalition, Jewish groups, business leaders and sporting stars.
A report on the hate speech reforms is due on Friday before debate next week.
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-with AAP
