Albanese government set to introduce landmark new hate speech and doxing laws to parliament
The Communist Albanese Regime Are Set To Smash What’s Left Of Our Freedoms.
The Albanese government has prepared new hate speech and privacy laws to introduce to parliament in a bid to criminalise serious vilification and curb doxing amid a rise in antisemitism in Australia.
Sky News has revealed the government is set to introduce new hate speech legislation that will classify matters of serious vilification as a criminal offence.
Political Editor Andrew Clennell broke the news on Wednesday and reported the new laws would be presented to parliament on Thursday.
The proposed laws have reportedly targeted derogatory remarks based on gender, sexuality, race, disability and religion.
This development has come in the wake of growing calls from Jewish groups following a surge in antisemitism linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
However, Christian and Muslim groups have said: “We do not think the introduction of criminal sanctions for public speech is the right pathway to this healing in our society.”
There have been concerns from Christian and Muslim communities regarding how the laws could relate to speech about sexual preference and sexual orientation.
Conversely, the Jewish community will most likely welcome the government’s reforms amid the highly-charged political context regarding the Gaza conflict.
There has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia since the October 7 attacks.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles argued earlier in the year that federal hate speech laws needed to be strengthened as quickly as possible.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton demanded stronger action after the NSW government failed to charge Islamic clerics who called Jews “descendants of pigs and monkeys”.
“Jewish community leaders should not have to plead for help to have the law enforced when their community is under siege,” Mr Dutton said in January.
One contentious issue in recent months has been whether the anti-Israel slogan, “from the river to the sea” should be considered hate speech.
Social media giant Meta ruled in September the controversial phrase was not considered hate speech on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said the slogan was inappropriate and “not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians”.
In addition to the hate speech legislation planned for Thursday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is also expected to introduce new privacy laws.
The privacy laws will seek to address doxing – the public sharing of private information with malicious intent.
