Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in our democratic society. Yet here we are watching our freedom being openly threatened by Labor's misinformation bill, the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024. The federal Labor government wants to be the arbiter of the truth. It wants to tell every Australian what they can and can't post online if they disagree with it. So, if your thoughts, your views, don't align with the government, you could be taken off social media. You could be punished. That's not freedom. That's not how freedom of speech should work. We should be allowing disagreement and discord, because freedom of speech doesn't mean hurtful speech. Freedom of speech means you should be able to disagree in a respectful manner with what the government's position is—or anyone else's—without fear of being removed from a platform or not being able to communicate to your friends and family. Yet this misinformation bill goes directly to that.

Previously, this bill was brought to the House and withdrawn, last November, after a massive opposition from 20,000 Australians all voicing their outcry, all saying loud and clear, 'This isn't what we want.' Yet this Labor government isn't listening. Now the bill is back, with a few tweaks and adjustments, but none of us are fooled by the idea that anything has really changed. This bill clearly remains a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's masquerading as harmless while seeking to threaten our fundamental freedoms. This is not just a piece of legislation but a direct challenge to our democratic right of free speech.

This bill aims to control digital platforms, give powers to the communications minister and selectively allow government approved messaging online. It's scary stuff, and it will fundamentally change how Australians interact with each other on social media. It's not only a disgrace but an affront to the principles of a free society. This bill has no rightful place in Australia. The coalition stands in strong opposition to it, and a coalition government will repeal it.

This bill threatens digital platforms with massive fines if they fail to pull down what the government considers to be misinformation. What do you think most platforms will be forced to do if they're given a choice between protecting free speech in Australia and being fined millions of dollars? It's obvious. If there's even the slightest possibility that any content could be regarded as misinformation by the government, the platforms will shut it down. This will have a chilling effect on free speech online throughout our country.

Imagine posting your honest opinion on a current event, something you feel passionate about, only for it to be deleted by the tech overlords, who are overseen by someone somewhere throughout the country, because the Australian government might not like it. Or consider that you want to share your perspective or maybe even challenge an opinion but you hold back because you're worried about being labelled as a spreader of misinformation. So your voice is silenced before you even try to speak.

My own social media page is one of the places where I go to hear from people throughout the electorate and the country so I can have a finger on the pulse and hear from the people on the ground on the important issues in our community. I get to hear all sorts of opinions and thoughts. Some are great, some not so. I get free advice. But it is a place of free debate and free speech. Even when we disagree, I go out of my way to either meet with the people that have put these comments up or engage with them on my platform. I allow everyone to be involved in this debate because that's a part of free speech. Much of this valuable community engagement would simply disappear if this bill were successful. It aims to clamp down on the free expression of Australians.

So here we are facing a bill with definitions so broad they are nothing but invitations for an abuse of power under the vague term 'misinformation'. This bill requires no burden of proof to show intent to mislead or maliciousness. Ordinary Australians expressing genuine opinions will find themselves in the crosshairs of censorship. Consider what this bill defines as 'serious harm'. This term stretches to cover everyday conversations around elections, referendums, public health and the economy. Imagine posting a perspective about the economy which is not favoured by the government of the day. Under this bill, your voice could be silenced because it could be considered seriously harmful for not toeing the government line. Or how about reposting a news story during election time that seems damaging to the current government? With one stroke, your story could vanish because it's considered seriously harmful.

The best news for the government is that the dirty work of censorship can be outsourced to big tech, which will be forced to decipher what 'misinformation' means to the Australian government of the day to avoid financial penalties. But it doesn't stop there. This bill aims to do more than just silence genuine debate. It grants extraordinary powers to the communications minister, who would begin dictating what is true and false online. The minister could initiate investigations and call for hearings all based on the minister's personal view of misinformation. The idea that a politician could order investigations into opinions they don't agree with online would be laughable if it weren't so serious and imminent. It has absolutely no place in our democracy. This is not just an oversight; it's a massive overreach.

The bill further empowers the ACMA with information-gathering capabilities, forcing platforms to turn over documents under threat of penalties. These are extraordinary new powers for the communications minister and the department. Is it any wonder, then, that the Labor government is attempting to ram this bill through parliament? The public were given just seven days to voice their concerns. The government's haste in pushing this bill through with minimal public consultation is offensive to the Australian people and is undemocratic.

Of course, none of us are surprised that the government's allies who toe the party line will be spared the heavy hand of censorship. This bill identifies groups of people who will come under its protective umbrella, and they are so-called experts, whose opinions are apparently more reliable than those held by the Australian people. Academics, scientists, comedians and so-called professional news networks will get an official exemption to post what they like without fear of censorship. Heaven forbid any Australian comments on one of their posts. Imagine getting into an argument with an academic online only to be swiftly censored, blacklisted, while they continue to enjoy their public platform or disagreeing with the way a comedian jokes about a subject only to be silenced because everything they are saying is satire and above any kind of criticism. How about challenging a story broadcast by mainstream media? If you'd dare to question the way they report, you'd be on a fast track to cancellation while the government approved message remained untouchable.

This is quite relevant right now when not even a month ago Heston Russell was in court with the ABC, where they doctored, misled and lied to the Australian people around what happened in Afghanistan. They were found to be guilty. He would be hauled over the coals with this bill. If he challenged that, if veterans around the country challenged this online, which is how it started, they would all be censored. They would be told, 'No, you can't comment on this, because the government says this is the truth and only the media and other protected groups are allowed to post what they like.'

Even podcasters need to ensure their script complies with the ministry of communications' guidelines or face being deplatformed. The minister may also exempt specific platforms from the operation of the bill so that the platforms can crack down, and the most ruthless and the most reliable in doing the minister's bidding will be rewarded with perks and benefits. This legislation will openly reward government approved speech while penalising free speech. It violates the principle of equality under the law, where your right to speak freely is regarded as less valuable than someone with a different job title to you. Suddenly we're looking at a two-tier system in freedom of expression where the privileged few are exempt from the same rules that will bind the mouths of ordinary Australians. Unequal treatment before the law is just as undemocratic as it is un-Australian.

It's not just politicians who are raising the alarm. Numerous legal experts have warned us about the grave dangers to free speech presented in this bill. New South Wales Solicitor-General Michael Sexton said:

It targets contestable political opinions on social media and is based on the patronising assumption that members of the community cannot make a judgment about those opinions …

He goes on to say that this bill:

… is designed to sanitise public debate on a range of political issues so any debate that does occur accords with the views of a group of government-appointed bureaucrats.

The Victorian Bar has said something similar. The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties have commented.

This is a bad bill. Residents throughout Townsville, around the country and in all of our electorates have been talking about how bad this bill is. One person from Deeragun, in Townsville, told me:

The contents of this Bill essentially give the power of truth to whichever political party is in power. This is yet another attempt by Politicians and Bureaucrats to destroy personal freedoms for every Australian.

A veteran wrote to me and said:

As you know, Australians are a nation of sportsmen and we like a bit of banter between the teams … and many blokes like us veterans are completely blown away by the audacity of the Labor Party to feel that they have the God given right not to allow us to express our opinions.

Another constituent called my office and asked if he was allowed to post his opinions online about the Queensland state election or if there would be any penalties for saying the wrong thing.

Having served in the Australian Defence Force, with time in Afghanistan—a place still under the grip of an iron-fisted authoritarian regime that crushes even the slightest whisper of dissent—I find this bill utterly disrespectful. I find it un-Australian. We are facing a similar threat here to our freedom of speech, and I would urge all in this place to vote against it. Freedom of speech is not just about speaking; it's about being heard without having fear of being silenced. The coalition's commitment is to ensure that free speech remains free. Failing to reject this bill puts our democratic society in jeopardy.

This is not just legislation; it's a gag order on democracy itself. The coalition will strongly oppose this outrageous bill, and we will defend the right of every Australian to speak, debate and dissent. In a free exchange of ideas lies our strength as a society, and we are determined to protect it. This is a bad bill. This is an attack on your free speech. This is an attack on every Australian. I urge people listening at home today as the debate goes on to contact your MPs. Contact them and tell them that you want your free speech—you don't want a government, a minister of truth, someone in parliament, telling you how to think and how to feel and what you can and can't say. This is an attack on your liberties, and we oppose it. The coalition opposes it because freedom of speech is a part of our democratic values and we must fight to protect it.

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