Faith groups raise alarm over hate speech reforms
Religious leaders are voicing concerns about definitions under draft hate speech reforms, saying it could open people up to prosecution for past speech.
Hate speech laws will be debated on Monday when parliament meets early following the massacre at Bondi Beach on December 14.
Under the changes, defenses against hate speech and racial slur crimes will also be included for people who directly quote a religious text.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the bill “sets out a principle-based test for behavior and speech that incites racial hatred against another person or group”.
Anglican Bishop Michael Stead said the reform had created a “field of definition” regarding hate and that the bill contained a retroactive element regarding banned groups.
“I have particular concerns about the definition of hate crime,” he told a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday.
Dr Stead said the bill could be expanded to claim that Christian teaching causes serious harm, leading to a Christian organization being listed as a hate group.
“It seems completely inappropriate to me to define something that is not a hate crime as a hate crime just so we can list the group,” he said.
The Anglican bishop said the bill imposes an “unfair restriction” on freedom of thought, conscience and belief.
He called for the debate to be postponed so it could be properly examined.
Sheikh Shadi Alsuleiman, president of the Australian National Imams Council, said the bill created “serious legal uncertainty” by exposing past legal discourse to new penalties.
“This conflicts with fundamental principles of legality and leaves religious leaders whose sermons are often publicly available (and) recorded at ongoing retroactive risk,” he said.
“Taken together, these characteristics place a disproportionate burden on the Australian Muslim community.”
Sheikh Alsuleiman also said that the reform should be postponed for at least a month, because a time frame of one week for all consequences to be taken into account is unreasonable.
“A bill like this has been rushed and needs to be given more time to be examined and consulted and to get this done properly,” he said.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie announced his decision to vote against the reform, saying it was “an attack on our fundamental democratic freedoms, as well as freedom of religion and conscience”.
“These three freedoms are fundamental to every democratic society,” he said in a video posted on Instagram.
“They are hard-earned and have served Australians well for over 100 years. This bill will reduce them and that’s why I’m voting no.”
Mr Hastie also accused Mr Albanese of “utter disdain for the normal parliamentary process” because of the size of the bill.
The prime minister announced a royal commission after weeks of mounting pressure from the coalition, Jewish groups, business leaders and sports stars.
A report on hate speech reforms is expected to be published on Friday, ahead of next week’s debate.
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