Religious leaders urge Albanese to pause reforms over freedom of expression concerns
Some of Australia’s most influential religious leaders have banded together to urge Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to halt hate speech reforms drafted in response to the Bondi massacre and warn of unintended consequences for freedom of religious expression.
Reflecting the concerns of Liberal MPs including Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, Anglican Archbishop of South Sydney Michael Stead and Australian National Imams Council president Shadi Alsuleiman, Andrew Hastie signed a letter on Friday arguing that an attempted crackdown on anti-Semitic Islamist hate preachers could also threaten reasonable religious discourse.
NSW Premier Chris Minns, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Rabbi Benjamin Elton listen to Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher at an interfaith ceremony in Sydney days after the Bondi massacre.Credit: AAP
“Freedom of religion includes the right of individuals and communities to teach, preach and express their beliefs openly and publicly, through sermons, religious instruction, pastoral guidance and moral commentary, even in situations where those beliefs are disputed, disliked or misunderstood,” said the letter, sent by Stead on behalf of Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and Scientology groups.
“It should be protected as a legitimate practice of religious worship, provided that such expression does not incite physical harm or violence.”
“Such broad and sensitive legislation requires careful deliberation and meaningful consultation. A hasty legislative process of this nature undermines trust, increases the risk of unintended consequences and is not conducive to social cohesion or social cohesion.”
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No Jewish group signed the letter, which acknowledged the need to act decisively after Bondi but warned against overdoing it.
In response to the Bondi massacre, the government developed new anti-defamation laws that would ban the promotion of hatred against individuals because of their ethnicity or race.
This attack targeted the abusive language of hate preachers against Jews, who had long remained below the threshold for prosecution under the old law because they did not contain direct threats and allowed sermons to continue unchecked.
