Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a core Labor belief that it is completely unacceptable to target someone because of who they are or what they believe. This hate crimes bill builds on this foundation. It demonstrates the Albanese Labor government's steadfast commitment to protecting Australians from vile and damaging hate crimes and the activities and speeches that incite such violence.

Hate crimes are those that are motivated by hate or prejudice against a person or group because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, nationality, ethnic origin or political opinion. The Australian Hate Crime Network explains:

Hate crime erodes people's sense of safety. It sends a message to targeted communities, and individuals, that they are not welcome. Hate crime undermines equality, diversity, human rights, and social cohesion.

Sadly, we don't have to look too far for recent examples of cowardly hate crimes in Australia. There is an increasing prevalence of hate crimes at our war memorials, synagogues and mosques; many have been vandalised. Women wearing the hijab have been abused in the street, while men wearing the yarmulke have been assaulted. Members of the LGBTIQA+ community have been vilified for their differences. Thankfully, it is a very small minority of Australians who foster hatred or extremism and participate in such despicable crimes. The vast majority of us both believe in, and celebrate, our modern, multicultural and multifaith society. However, we must continue to stand firm against those elements that seek to create and exploit divisions in our communities. We must continue to combat the rise of extremist viewpoints which can lead to hate crimes.

The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill does just that by strengthening existing offences and creating new criminal offences. It sets out in black and white that inciting violence is a crime and that it will lead to serious criminal penalties. The new offences will carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. A higher maximum penalty of seven years in jail is applied when the threat to use force or violence, if acted upon, would directly threaten the operation of the Commonwealth government or peace and order. The strengthened existing offences in this bill refer to sections 80.2A and 80.2B of the Criminal Code, which concern the urging of the use of force. The current requirement for an offence is that the person urging violence must intend for violence to occur. This reform makes it an offence if the person is reckless about whether violence would result from their activities. Section 80.3 includes a provision to apply the defence of good faith to this offence. This bill removes that defence. Inciting violence can never be done in good faith. I repeat: inciting violence can never be done in good faith.

The bill also extends the list of protected attributes. Earlier I gave a list of the potential targets of hate crime. This bill extends protection to people who may be targeted for their disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. The bill further strengthens the response to the public display of prohibited hate symbols and corrects a gap in the legislation. The provisions make it a crime to publicly display, or make, the Nazi gesture to all persons and groups distinguished by sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. This adds to those who are currently protected due to being distinguished by race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion or national origin. This amendment reflects the power of these hate symbols to offend, intimidate, insult and humiliate. It also matches existing civil protections in the Sex Discrimination Act and meets Australia's international human rights requirements. As well as strengthening the Criminal Code, the bill creates a new criminal offence for threatening the use of force or violence against a person or group that is distinguished by their race, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, national or ethnic origin or political opinion. This includes a direct threat from one person to another.

This bill is not intended to criminalise public debate or stymie free speech. Free speech is a foundational belief and a vital part of being a democracy. We all need to feel seen and heard about the issues that matter to us. Sometimes those views may be unpleasant and contrary to our own beliefs, but shutting down free speech is not what this bill is about. This bill focuses firmly on dangerous and hateful speech and actions that step further and become threatening, or that urge or incite violence against a person, a group or wider society. This legislation is crucial to protecting the Australian community from violence, discrimination and hatred, and by 'community', I mean, of course, our vibrant and diverse multicultural society—that modern Australia that we all know and love.

As the member for Moreton for the past 18 years, I've seen how successful a multicultural community can be. Moreton is enriched by many different cultures, languages, ethnicities and religions. That harmony will always take work and understanding and compassion and respect, to maintain the cohesion we currently have. Social cohesion faces challenges from a variety of sources. We have seen how conflicts overseas adversely impact communities here in Australia. Sadly, antisemitism, Islamophobia and the targeting of our First Nations people are all on the rise.

This legislation comes at a crucial time—a time when our community leaders and, indeed, all Australians must demonstrate their commitment to tolerance for all people and groups in our community. We must continue to engage with each other and we must continue to uphold our values of respect and inclusion. Attorney-General Dreyfus said something similar:

Tolerance lies at the heart of our Australian multiculturalism. It is a vital democratic value … tolerance of different cultural and religious values and … political positions—produces inclusiveness and not division. It enables harmonious communities and peaceful political debate.

I commend my good friend the Attorney-General and his team on the extensive consultation they took regarding this vital change to the Criminal Code. Stakeholder consultation included religious groups, disability advocates, gender equality and LGBTQIA+ groups, ethnic communities and media representatives, to name just a few. Consultation also included the states and territories, the justice departments and the police forces. Given the gravity of the subject matter, Commonwealth agencies such as the AFP, ASIO, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner were all consulted.

The measures in this bill will directly support law enforcement agencies in time-critical management of hate crime threats. It will enhance their ability to intervene before an act of violence has occurred and better support them to disrupt and investigate such threats. All this adds up to increased protection for Australians.

This bill, this hate crime legislation, builds upon the landmark steps already taken by this Labor government to protect Australians from hate symbols and salutes—and I will touch on some of the things that the Albanese government has done—including Nazi symbols and those of terrorist organisations. When that legislation was introduced, I said hate symbols were being used as beacons to influence and to spread hate. This bill ensures that those who use that foundation of hatred to threaten violence will face serious criminal consequences.

As the Attorney-General said:

How we protect minority groups, and how we treat those that are different to ourselves, is a measure of our society and a measure of our humanity.

I'm proud that the Labor government's record in shutting down hate crime and hateful symbols is now being made public.

This bill makes it clear to all Australians that threatening violence against individuals with protected attributes is now a serious crime. It also makes it clear that there is no place here for people seeking to divide the Australian community with threats of violence based on who you are or what they believe. Labor will always protect all Australians and ensure they can live freely and without fear. I commend the bill to the House.

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