What’s inside the new hate speech and gun reform bill
WHAT IS HAPPENING
* Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that a national day of mourning will be held on Thursday, January 22 for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack.
* Flags will be flown at half-staff at all Commonwealth buildings around Australia
* Following the massacre that killed 15 people and injured dozens of others, a bill aiming to address hate speech and reform gun laws was also published.
* The investigation into the bill will be held on Tuesday
WHAT IS IN THE INVOICE
* The legislation strengthens offenses related to the public display of banned symbols and expands what counts as hate symbols, including those used to identify banned hate groups.
* It defines a hate crime as inflicting serious harm on, or threatening to cause serious harm to, or killing a targeted person or their property because of their race, national or ethnic origin.
* Courts will need to treat offenses more seriously where behavior is motivated in whole or in part by racial, national or ethnic hatred
* The bill introduces an aggravated offense punishable by 12 years in prison if religious officials, spiritual leaders or pastoral figures commit existing crimes linked to extremism
* Proposes new crimes such as directing the activities or recruiting members of a banned hate group, which carries a 15-year prison sentence, and being a member of a hate group, which carries a 7-year prison sentence
* The draft laws are also clearly linked to a new national arms buyback plan that would tighten background checks, expand intelligence sharing with ASIO and impose tighter import controls on high-risk firearms.
WHAT WAS SAID
* “The terrorists on Bondi Beach had hate on their minds but guns in their hands and this bill will get rid of both of those problems” – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
* “This is a package of legislation to tackle hate… Once enacted, these will be the toughest hate speech laws the Commonwealth has ever had” – Attorney-General Michelle Rowland
* “Once we accept these bills we will be open to considering extending the detail to other areas of hate… but at the moment our focus is, unapologetically, on what led to the Bondi terrorist attacks” – Health Secretary Mark Butler
* “If you were really serious about bringing the country together and bringing the parliament together you would separate these two serious and complex policy areas” – National Party leader David Littleproud
* “Serious libel laws must be enforced equally. The government must stop all forms of hatred before it turns violent, not create layers of protection” – Equality Australia legal director Heather Corkhill
