The hate speech bill is a disaster — and there’s a glaring exclusion

Really. Are we all supposed to act as if the Combating Antisemitism, Hatred and Extremism Act 2026 is what it is? Isn’t it a cheap three card trick? A 144-page bill, containing numerous new laws and potentially huge changes, will be tabled and passed at the beginning of January, a week before parliament is recalled. Public applications are open for 48 hours.

No one had enough time to properly assess this multifaceted disaster. This is not making laws; It is performance art. This would be funny, but people will be dragged from the streets to the courts by the Australian Federal Police, facing five years in prison and more, for their earrings, T-shirts and slogans, all because of a bill that no one will understand before it becomes law.