January 20, 2025
Labor and the Coalition are within sight of a deal to pass new laws against violent hate speech when federal parliament resumes in February, as both major parties vow to act on antisemitism while arguing over which side is tougher on the problem.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government would move to pass the laws as soon as possible, as he returned to Australia on Monday from a visit to Israel and the West Bank.
The comment came after the Coalition’s shadow attorney-general, Michaelia Cash, said the Opposition was ready to pass the laws as long as the government agreed to make it a crime to threaten places of worship including synagogues.
While the moves bring an agreement on hate crime within sight, the two sides appear at odds on a proposal from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Monday to impose mandatory minimum sentences of one year for displaying the flags of terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as introducing six-year terms for committing a terrorist act.
Dreyfus introduced the hate crimes bill to parliament last September but the changes were not included in the rush of laws pushed through in December, raising doubts about when they would be approved.
“Right now, the government has a bill before the parliament to criminalise hate speech,” Dreyfus told this masthead.
“And we want that legislation passed as soon as possible.”
Dreyfus challenged the Coalition to back the bill, but Cash separately told this masthead the Coalition was ready to vote for the changes as soon as parliament returned in February.
“Back in October we said we were ready to work constructively to pass the Hate Crimes Bill as quickly as possible,” Cash said.
“We want to see that bill strengthened to include urging or threatening attacks against places of worship, and passed when parliament meets again in February.”
The political dispute has intensified after Sydney Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin’s former home was vandalised in the early hours of Friday morning, compounding the concerns about antisemitism and the argument about whether to toughen federal law.
Dutton claimed on Monday that Albanese was weak on antisemitism for failing to call an emergency meeting of all state and territory leaders to tackle the recent surge in threats to the safety of Jewish Australians.
“We’re seeing the firebombing of cars, we’re seeing people doxed, we’re seeing children going to school protected by armed guards,” he said. “If now is not the time for National Cabinet, when is it?”
Albanese dismissed the calls, saying at a later press conference: “What people want to see isn’t more meetings, they want to see more action.”
Labor committed to passing anti-vilification laws early in 2024 in response to growing concern about antisemitism. The act would capture hatred against any religious or racial group. When the legislation was released later in the year, it contained weaker protections than hoped for by some minority groups, including LGBTI associations and Jewish groups.
The proposals led by Dreyfus criminalise threatening violence against groups but stop short of outlawing vilification and ridicule, thereby avoiding some of the trickier free speech debates.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the hate speech bill should be expanded to stop threats against places of worship.
The Coalition has sought to make Albanese’s response to the surge in attacks on Jewish sites as a test of his leadership, repeatedly calling on Labor to convene a national cabinet meeting on antisemitism. The opposition has been one of the most pro-Israel centre-right political parties in comparable nations, rarely criticising the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
Albanese has not agreed to a national cabinet but met the leaders of Victoria and NSW last week to discuss the issue. The government has defended its record by pointing to its laws to criminalise doxxing, noting the Coalition voted against the privacy changes when they passed the parliament in December.
On Monday, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced he was planning to strengthen state hate speech laws within weeks and outlaw protests outside places of worship because hate speech was, in his view, “the initial spark” that led to antisemitic acts. An expert review commissioned by Minns advised against the change.
After the December 6 arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan flagged a blanket ban on symbols and flags of listed terrorist organisations – including Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist groups. Victoria will also prohibit protests outside places of worship. The laws have not yet been legislated and will be considered when state parliament resumes.
