Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Hansard source

Freedom of speech and peaceful freedom of assembly are God-given rights which all of us in this place must protect. Unfortunately, Labor and Liberal both lean toward censorship. They both lean toward the desire to silence Australian citizens. It was, after all, the Liberal Party who created the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, an office which has only been emboldened by the Labor Party. It was also the Liberal Party who originally gave us the misinformation and disinformation bill under the tenure of former communications minister Paul Fletcher. When it comes to the stifling of people's rights to speak freely, both major parties are on a unity ticket.

If freedom of speech is not protected, then our government could become, as former NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern said, our sole source of truth. Without the ability to speak freely and to raise a dissenting voice, we would all have to believe that men who consider themselves women are in fact actually women. That's the government line, and everyone knows it's ridiculous. Without the ability to speak freely, we could be forced to believe that immigration is not out of control or that there is no housing crisis at all. We would be made to sit and listen to politicians spouting nonsense while disbelieving our own lying eyes.

Remember when the government told us that the COVID vaccine was safe and effective? The ability to call BS on official advice is not only an Australian trait but also a vital human trait. To ban the public from looking government in the eye and calling out its bureaucratic spin is to enslave the population to propaganda. It is also to transform our free country into a dystopian, autocratic nightmare. The government can wave around their misinformation and disinformation bill all they like, but I deserve my right to say that your health advice is unhealthy, your immigration policy is garbage, your climate catastrophism is laughable, your energy policy is just fantasy, your misinformation bill is fascism, your abortion policy is murderous, your eSafety Commissioner is tyrannical and your fluid definition of gender, which even a child knows to be wrong, makes you look like a bunch of silly idiots. Long live free speech.