Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The feedback continues to come in relating to the government's Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023. I'm inspired by Australians who are examining the propositions that the government is putting forward that the government will have a regulator to censor, essentially, free speech in Australia. They are deeply concerned at the ideas that are contained within this bill, and I want to add my voice to their voices and to those of the bodies of journalists and people interested in free speech around Australia who are concerned at the idea that we will have a government regulator effectively deciding what is true or not true online, given our experiences around the world with so many countries.

Every time we hear from the Iranian citizenry that's fighting for human rights at the moment, we hear they have no rights against their government. They have no right to get online and even talk about the issues they are facing. We know in Russia there is no information or access to anything other than state run information. We know in China, under the CCP, people can't talk about their criticisms of the government and are unable to even express their basic views. Sometimes, in our liberal and democratic society, it is easy to forget the fundamental nature of our freedoms, which include freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of worship.

The fact this bill says that the government itself, if it makes a statement, cannot be wrong, is perhaps the most incredible statement of all in this bill. Government can be wrong. Government is wrong. The nations that are going through this around the world—most of the world's population today—know that freedom of speech is an essential foundation of a free society.

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