Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In some way, Minister. I will keep my remarks very brief and then move on.

We had a very interesting discussion just now about the need for anti-vilification legislation and its importance, whether it is against a minority group or not. But at no stage, Minister, have you addressed the question or the amendment that we have proposed at No. 15, that these offences simply fall in the Criminal Code with anti-vilification offences and that we do not need to contemplate them as acts of terrorism. I hoped that one of the intentions of moving one of those amendments, particularly No. 15, was that these amendments are simply in the wrong place. We are conflating—I think quite dangerously—terrorism related offences which give rise to harm to the Commonwealth, or a threat to the Commonwealth or to the government of Australia, and anti-vilification offences, which I agree are extremely important for protecting groups, whether they be marginalised or not, from violence or threats of violence.

I still do not quite understand the government’s intention or the opposition’s support for conflating them and keeping them in the same place. All that our amendment 15 was doing was actually repositioning these offences within the Criminal Code. I just wonder whether you would like to address that question briefly, Minister?