Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Consumers are protected from commercial conduct and advertising that is misleading and deceptive. This includes promotions or ads that contain false and inaccurate information, and statements that fail to disclose important information. But nothing protects voters from misleading and deceptive political advertising. Will you support my bill or introduce legislation without delay to provide voter protections in political advertising, consistent with existing consumer protections?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Warringah for her question. I certainly understand her perspective, because it is a concern, with the changing media environment as well, that people can be subject to misinformation, which in some cases is just about politics but in some cases can be dangerous.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, perhaps I wasn't going to give a specific example, but I will. During the recent campaign there was a photograph with the Star of David, a cross and the faces of eight Australians: Mark Leibler, Thomas Mayo, Anthony Pratt, Justice Stephen Rothman, Julian Leeser, Josh Burns, Kim Rubenstein and Mark Dreyfus. This is what it said:

All of the major creators, financiers and supporters of the Voice to Parliament are Jewish. Ask yourself why .38% of Australia's population is using 3% as a battering ram against the rest of the country. Every single time.

Before the ad, the account said this:

Just a totally organic cohencidence—

spelt C-O-H-E-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E—

for the betterment of Australia and totally not the latest chapter in the thousands year old hate and attempted destruction of white people.

The question that has been asked by the member for Warringah goes to a serious question, and everyone in this parliament would find that totally abhorrent, which is—

Opposition members interjecting—

Why are you interjecting at this point in time?

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're asking who put it out.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Petrie!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not going to give a free ad to those people. I wasn't going to go through them; there are a number of them along those lines. Now, when it comes to the challenge which we have of dealing with this, it's complex. You don't want to interfere with any freedom of expression, but you also want to make sure that elections and democratic process can be held in an appropriate way. The minister is undertaking appropriate processes to deal with that, and I look forward to working with the member for Warringah— (Time expired)