Faith leaders urge delay to Labor hate speech bill over free‑speech concerns

A coalition of faith groups, including the bishop of south Sydney’s Anglican diocese, the head of the Australian National Imams Council and the archbishop of Sydney’s Catholic archdiocese, has written to prime minister Anthony Albanese expressing “serious concern” about Labor’s hate speech bill due to be debated in parliament next week.

In a joint letter to Albanese, home affairs minister Tony Burke and attorney general Michelle Rowland the signatories said they remain committed to tackling antisemitism and racial and religious hatred but warned the bill, as written, may have “(perhaps unintended) adverse implications for religious freedom and freedom of expression” and that it provided “inadequate consultation and review”.

The letter said: “Faith communities, legal experts, and civil society organisations have not been afforded a reasonable amount of time to properly study the legislation, assess its legal and constitutional implications, or prepare constructive and well-considered submissions for what has been described as the ‘most consequential change’ to Australia’s counterterrorism laws since 9/11.” The group asked the prime minister to delay the bill’s introduction and said it “stands ready to work with the Albanese government to ‘improve the bill’”, offering to engage further to develop amendments “to ensure an appropriate legislative response to hatred and extremism”.

Key Topics

Politics, Hate Speech Bill, Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke, Michelle Rowland, Religious Freedom