Federal Labor backpedalling quickly after 23,000 hostile submissions slamming Misinformation bill
The Albanese Government has today made a humiliating backdown on its planned Misinformation Bill with admissions it got it wrong, and has been forced to make fundamental changes to its plan.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has admitted she got it wrong when she failed to provide an exemption for online discussions on religious beliefs from being captured by the Misinformation laws. Religious organisations had expressed alarm at the failure to provide the exemption.
The Government has also been forced to make changes to the very definitions around what constitutes ‘misinformation’ and pushed back the timing for the introduction of the Bill by up to six months.
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said today’s backdown confirmed why so many people and organisations have rallied against Labor’s plans.
“The Government has today begun walking back from one of its signature policies,” Mr Coleman said.
“We are seeing the pack of cards of the Misinformation Bill starting to come down.
“There has been a deep catalogue of criticisms of the Bill from groups including the Human Rights Commission, civil liberties groups, leading lawyers, religious bodies and the media union.
“There have been an extraordinary 23,000 submissions and comments on the Government’s draft Bill – with the vast majority of the fraction published so far being hostile to Labor’s plan.
“The Coalition has been demonstrating the many flaws with this Bill and now the Government has been forced into making changes.
“Today’s humiliating backdown on just the religious freedoms question barely scratches the surface of the many problems with Labor’s deeply flawed Bill.
“It also doesn’t deal with the central problem of the Bill which would see the opinions of everyday Australians censored. The Government’s exemption from the proposed Misinformation law has also been widely slammed.”
Mr Coleman said Minister Rowland has broken her promise to introduce the Misinformation Bill by the end of this year and pushed it back to the middle of next year. The Coalition remains fundamentally opposed to Labor’s Bill.
The Albanese Government has today made a humiliating backdown on its planned Misinformation Bill with admissions it got it wrong, and has been forced to make fundamental changes to its plan.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has admitted she got it wrong when she failed to provide an exemption for online discussions on religious beliefs from being captured by the Misinformation laws. Religious organisations had expressed alarm at the failure to provide the exemption.
The Government has also been forced to make changes to the very definitions around what constitutes ‘misinformation’ and pushed back the timing for the introduction of the Bill by up to six months.
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said today’s backdown confirmed why so many people and organisations have rallied against Labor’s plans.
“The Government has today begun walking back from one of its signature policies,” Mr Coleman said.
“We are seeing the pack of cards of the Misinformation Bill starting to come down.
“There has been a deep catalogue of criticisms of the Bill from groups including the Human Rights Commission, civil liberties groups, leading lawyers, religious bodies and the media union.
“There have been an extraordinary 23,000 submissions and comments on the Government’s draft Bill – with the vast majority of the fraction published so far being hostile to Labor’s plan.
Our labour Government is chock full of left wing pseudo intellectuals that are determined to alter free speech to establish their Communist ideology.
What these sad morons forget is that you cannot tamper with free speech by making laws to compromise its power.
You have free speech or you don’t have free speech, that is the reality. Nothing in between!
Free speech is powerful and all Governments fear free speech hence the continued assault on its expression.