Religious leaders urge Albanese to pause reforms over freedom of expression concerns
Updated ,first published
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.
Echoing the concerns of Liberal MPs, including Andrew Hastie, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, Anglican Bishop Michael Stead of South Sydney and Shadi Alsuleiman, president of the National Council of Imams of Australia, co-signed a letter on Friday arguing that an attempt to crack down on anti-Semitic Islamist hate preachers could also threaten reasonable religious discourse.
“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.”
The letter is the most significant intervention in the debate over hate speech laws from religious organisations, and gains further strength from the contributions of the prime minister’s confidant, Archbishop Fisher.
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.
But civil liberties groups, Coalition MPs and legal experts have raised concerns that the new, lower threshold for criminal speech could cover discussions of controversial issues such as immigration or terrorism.
The intervention of faith leaders could provide some political cover for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who finds herself in the awkward position of arguing that hate speech laws are rushed and flawed after spending weeks demanding that Albania return to parliament to give full effect to all the recommendations of antisemitism ambassador Jillian Seagal, who has called for anti-defamation laws.
The Prime Minister has been accused of playing political games by pressuring the Coalition to support a complex and far-reaching bill to be passed on short notice. As a result, he is now unlikely to find a path to working with the Coalition. Meanwhile, the Greens want sexuality and religion to be protected, which will lead to more complex debates.
Albanese attacked Ley for allegedly politicizing the Bondi attack, which Ley denies.
He did not hit the podium and engaged in “no performative behaviour”, he said, referring to Ley at a press conference in Brisbane on Friday.
In the letter, the leaders said Albanese should go back to the drawing board and renew scrapped bills in 2024 dealing with serious religious libel.
They also opposed calls to remove a defense in the bill. Creating exemptions for religious leaders who quote a religious text. Coalition MPs and the Executive Council of Australian Jews want this defense removed to prevent Muslim preachers from misusing passages from the Quran.
“It would be inconsistent with the Prime Minister’s pre-election promise to faith leaders that ‘legal protections for people of faith will not roll back under Labour’ and his commitment to advance religious protections in a bipartisan manner with the Coalition,” the letter from religious leaders said. It was said.
Privately, some key Jewish leaders are dismayed that Albanese appears to have consulted only ECAJ co-chairman Peter Wertheim on hate speech laws.
“We are ready to work with the government to improve the bill, which will eliminate unintended consequences and excessive practices while achieving the goals of combating antisemitism and racial and religious hatred. But we need more time,” the letter said.
“We therefore respectfully urge the government to delay the introduction of the bill to allow for an adequate consultation period and to engage directly and meaningfully with faith communities to ensure the right balance in this legislation. “Australia’s strength lies in its ability to protect both public safety and fundamental freedoms.
“Measures to combat hate should strengthen, not undermine, trust, justice and inclusion.”
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Paul Sakkal is the chief political correspondent. It has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect with: excitement or email.
