Independent Liam Parry confronts Premier David Crisafulli over hate speech laws
A short-lived clash between the Queensland premier and the pro-Palestinian advocate-turned-independent candidate marked the start of the Stafford by-election on Saturday, with thousands flocking to stands opposite inner-city voters.
A video shared on social media shows independent candidate Liam Parry confronting Prime Minister David Crisafulli over his government’s hate speech laws at a polling station in Chermside, where he was handing out leaflets on Saturday morning.
Parry, who is running for the newly formed Queensland Socialists and is the first Queensland person to be arrested for using an expression banned under the new laws, is seen approaching the prime minister and asking why he is jailing Palestinian activists.
“For saying six words – can you go to jail for two years for saying six words?” said Parry.
“Is there anyone you don’t want to be imprisoned? You want to imprison 10-year-old children, Palestinian activists…”
While Crisafulli responded to the candidate by telling him “not today, mate”, a staff member intervened to tell Parry that the prime minister was too busy to discuss his concerns.
“Is he busy? I’m busy… being dragged into court by you and your government,” Parry replied.
“Are you going to ban other expressions… are you going to forbid me from criticizing you?
“Shame on you.”
Parry told this imprint that he had never seen the prime minister in person before and seized the opportunity to confront him.
“I was walking past the stand to check how the volunteers were doing… and I saw him,” Parry said.
“I like it when people call out politicians, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
Parry said he was not surprised by Crisafulli’s refusal to engage in discussion about his government’s hate speech laws, which ban popular pro-Palestinian phrases such as “globalizing the intifada” and “river to sea.”
“I thought he basically said he had nothing to say and didn’t even want to talk about it, which I think is pretty ridiculous considering he’s trying to jail me and other Palestinian activists,” Parry said.
A spokesman for Crisafulli said the government stood by legislation introduced to curb antisemitism and terrorism following the bondi beach terror attack last year.
The incident happened around 8 a.m. Saturday at Chermside Kedron Community Church, where Crisafulli spent the morning handing out flyers and talking to voters.
About an hour later, Labor candidate Luke Richmond cast his vote at the Little Flower Church hall in Kedron.
The seat of Stafford was previously held by former Labor MP Jimmy Sullivan, who became an independent after being expelled from the party last year. Sullivan’s sudden death in April triggered the midterm election.
It is claimed that Richmond will secure the Labor seat in the first test of Crisafulli’s leadership since the LNP came to power in the 2024 state election.
“There’s a general sense that the LNP government is all talk and no action, and people are really tired of broken promises,” Richmond told a press conference on Saturday.
Richmond, a lawyer with a background in health policy, said health, housing and cost of living pressures were the biggest issues among his voters and were at the forefront of Labor’s campaign during the by-election.
LNP announces former Brisbane councilor Fiona Hammond as its representative last month.
Crisafulli acknowledged the LNP were underdogs heading into the by-election, but said he was confident in the “really quality candidate” put forward.
“Instead of a scare campaign, we’ve done a campaign based on our record and people are responding quite well,” he told Nine News on Saturday.
“Historically, swings against governments in midterm elections have been in double digits—a swing of about 20 percent.
“We’re realistic about a modest distance from ourselves, which I think is probably an indication that we’re doing what we say we’re doing.
“We’re still good and real underdogs, but we’ve got a chance.”
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