Labor’s hate speech and gun laws set to fail as Coalition and Greens rule out support | Australian politics

Labour’s proposed hate speech and gun laws look set to fail in the federal parliament without significant revision after both the Coalition and the Greens rejected support; which led to angry allegations of hypocrisy from Anthony Albanese.

The Executive Council of Australian Jews (ECAJ) next week called on the Coalition to press for changes rather than directly opposing the bill, while opposition leader Sussan Ley described the prime minister’s plan as “quite unsalvageable” and suggested it did not adequately tackle antisemitism or Islamist extremism.

Labor will continue to press for a deal, insisting negotiations could still pave the way forward for the bill, which comes in response to the deaths of 15 people in last month’s Bondi terror attack.

ECAJ co-chairman Peter Wertheim said Ley should “not let the perfect become the enemy of the good” in the bills, which he said would offer immediate new protections, including powers to legally designate hate groups.

Among Ley’s main concerns were the lack of provisions banning phrases such as “globalizing the intifada” and “river to sea”, which Jewish leaders described as antisemitic and seditious. He said the government was rushing through new laws that the bureaucrats responsible for drafting the bills could not explain.

“We called on Parliament to table a motion of condolence to honor the victims and help the nation come together, and we also called for immediate action,” Ley said.

“The government has done neither. They fought the nation over the royal commission. It took a month to deliver this bad bill.”

Parliament will meet on Monday and Tuesday next week, partly due to Coalition demands for an early return from summer recess.

But any path to the Senate seems extremely difficult; The Greens warn that one segment of society should not be given legal protection over others and their rights to protest, including for pro-Palestinian groups, should not be restricted.

Greens leader Larissa Waters said: “The Greens have expressed our concerns about this legislation to the government and we will not support it in its current form.”

“We can’t fight hate if we don’t fight it on behalf of everyone. Excluding the protection of people on the basis of religion ignores the fact that both antisemitism and Islamophobia are increasing in our societies. These laws must protect everyone from hate and discrimination, including LGBTQ+ and disability communities.”

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Labor has said stronger legal protections for religious groups, disabled people and LGBTQ+ Australians will be considered once the current bill is passed.

Despite the danger, the government has promised to continue negotiations on possible changes. A last-minute parliamentary hearing may be held on Monday night.

Albanese said he was stunned by the Coalition’s stance after weeks of demands from Ley and his shadow ministers. Ley initially suggested parliament return in the days before Christmas, but now says the process is too rushed.

“The coalition has called very clearly every day to recall parliament.

“You can’t have it both ways.

“It seems to me that people who have been watching events since December 14th have seen the Coalition playing politics. They are still playing politics and I am surprised that some of their members have said they will vote against the law without even looking at it.”

Ley faces a formidable challenge in wielding authority over his divided party and the Coalition more broadly. National MPs opposed the new gun law reform provisions included in the legislation, while influential Liberal supporter Andrew Hastie raised constitutional concerns about the legislation.

Ley faced confusion on Thursday after defeating efforts to introduce his own law, which was first published on December 18. Liberal MPs said the issue had not been presented to the party room and should be discussed within the party.

This will lead to the validation of the report by the government’s special envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, and moves to strengthen and modernize counter-terrorism laws, including giving new powers to the Australian federal police and Asio.

It will also legislate the definition of antisemitism for the first time, strip citizenship of binational terrorists and hate preachers, and impose tougher restrictions on extremists entering Australia.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Ley and the Coalition “showed nothing but weakness, nothing but hypocrisy”.

Wertheim said the Coalition needed to make changes to improve the bill, warning that “a wholesale rejection of the bill is by no means guaranteed.”

“In our view, rejecting the bill would be a step backwards.

“Although it is not ideal, we need legal reform now.”

Jewish activist and former Labor adviser Dean Sherr said the Coalition needed to cooperate with the government.

“For the past two years, and especially since Bondi, they have been insisting that the government listen to the Jewish community, whether it is the special envoy’s report or the call of the royal commission. Now suddenly they are not listening to the Jewish community and are prepared to vote to reject it completely.”

“I think the community would clearly prefer this to be a bipartisan issue involving the Coalition and they would have less faith if it was a deal between Labor and the Greens.”

Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory urged MPs to vote against the bill; He warned that measures designed to protect the Jewish community should not be passed without real consultation.

“Any government proposing to criminalize speech must act in a sober, cautious and bipartisan manner. Governments should only deal with the worst forms of expression, such as direct incitement to violence,” he said.

“This bill risks regulating subjective views and is based on vague concepts such as ‘intimidation’.”