George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thought you were. So you would be aware that the existing criminal law of incitement to violence requires a very direct correlation between the words that constitute the incitement and the violent act. But when we are dealing with the advocacy of terrorism—terrorism, as you know, is a defined term in the act—the immediacy of that correlation which the existing criminal offence requires is not always there. It is not necessarily there. This legislation seeks to address that area where the existing offence of incitement of violence is not available to prosecutors. It does that by saying:

(1) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person advocates:

  (i) the doing of a terrorist act; or

  (ii) the commission of a terrorism offence … and

(b) the person engages in that conduct reckless as to whether another person will:

  (i) engage in a terrorist act; or

  (ii) commit a terrorism offence …

A terrorism offence is one of the existing terrorism offences set in part 5.3 of the Criminal Code. 'Advocates' is a defined term. 'Advocates' is not a term of art. It is not a term with a particular technical legal meaning, so it is defined by subclause 2 of the proposed section in these terms:

… a person advocates the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorism offence if the person counsels, promotes, encourages or urges the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorism offence.

What those words, those synonyms, seek to capture is the essence of advocacy, the essence of advocacy being an attempt by language or other verbal forms to persuade someone to do something. The relevant event being caught here is 'the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorism offence'. Now, Senator Wright, if you and your colleagues from the Greens party want to go out into the public space of Australia and say it should not be against the law to advocate the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorist offence, you go right ahead, Senator Wright. But the government believe, the opposition believe as well and most of the crossbench senators to whom I have spoken also believe that it should not be lawful in this country to advocate the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorist offence.

Lastly, Senator Wright, let me address what you said about freedom of speech. The Australian Greens having led the campaign against freedom of speech in the early part of this year, it seems to me, Senator Wright, that it is beyond bizarre that you would now be posing as a champion of freedom of speech. But, that being said, there is all the difference in the world between advocating the doing of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorism offence, and expressing an opinion, bearing in mind that terrorism is defined in terms of violence or causing fear, on the one hand, and expressing a point of view, on the other hand. There is not a word in this bill—not a word—that impinges upon or restricts freedom of opinion. If a person wants to express radical views, if they want to promote or proselytise a radical view of the world or a non-mainstream view of the world, they are perfectly free to do so.

What they are not free to do and what they should not be free to do is to advocate the commission of a terrorist act or the commission of a terrorism offence, because that goes beyond merely the expression of an opinion. What that involves is encouraging or promoting or urging other people—almost always vulnerable people, I might say, who are susceptible to the injunctions of these predators—to do harm or violence to innocent people and, indeed, in many cases, to themselves. If, Senator Wright, that is okay with you, then that is a matter between you and your conscience. But I think most of the Australian people would agree with the government that it ought not to be lawful in this country to do so.