Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, the Leader of the Opposition—was mandatory jail time for the public use of hate symbols. It is completely unacceptable to wave a Nazi flag, a Hezbollah flag or a Hamas rally flag at a public rally. We have unfortunately seen numerous examples of these hate symbols being used to terrorise Jewish Australians since 7 October 2023. The use of terrorist symbols was made illegal in a bipartisan piece of legislation which was originally suggested by the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, and the coalition. But this legislation ensures that those who do use those symbols will face at least 12 months in jail, and, as I said, we have also increased the maximum penalty to five years. This is a very clear message to those who wish to intimidate Australians through the use of a terrorist symbol.

We have also secured strong new measures against those who advocate damage to places of worship, whether it is a synagogue, a church, a mosque or a temple. The other amendment that the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, has secured is a new offence, with minimum jail time, for religiously motivated property damage that advocates violence against groups. The new mandatory minimum sentence is 12 months imprisonment and a maximum of five years.

To be clear, the references to 'force or violence' in the legislation do not include psychological harm or mental harm. For the benefit of those listening in to the debate or considering this legislation in the future, the clear intention of the parliament is to enact legislation that relates to physical force or violence and not psychological harm or other sorts of mental harm. This point was made clearly by government officials in the course of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the legislation and is consistent with the advice provided by the Attorney-General himself in writing to the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. The intention that the words 'force or violence' refer to physical force or violence and not mental and psychological harm is expressly reflected in the report from the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, which was supported by both major parties. Indeed, the word 'harm' does not appear in this bill or in the amendments that were agreed to in the other place. So let there be no doubt about it for any person who may be looking at this legislation in the future: the bill deals with physical force or violence.

We have all been sickened in recent months by the attacks on synagogues as part of the wave of antisemitism in Australia. We are extremely disappointed by the actions, or rather the inactions, of our Prime Minister and his inability to lead a united response to the antisemitism crisis we are now experiencing in Australian society. In terms of the position of the coalition, led by the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, there is no ambiguity about our support for Jewish Australians facing the antisemitism crisis in Australia. The coalition proudly supports our ally Israel in their fight against terrorist organisations, including Hamas and Hezbollah, who would—let's be very clear on this—wipe them off the map.

This legislation is a very important step towards ensuring that all Australians are protected, no matter what their background, no matter what their religion, no matter what community they belong to. The legislation, however—and I go back to my opening comments—is not a substitute for genuine national leadership in fighting the antisemitism crisis in Australia. What we need, and quite frankly what we needed, from day one, from 9 October, when we saw what happened at the Sydney Opera House, is a prime minister—a person who is elected to lead our nation. When there is a crisis of national security, this is the person who the people of Australia look to for leadership, for strength, for guidance and for reassurance that it is okay. Unfortunately, as we stand here in February 2025, we have a prime minister who has failed in that regard.

We need a prime minister who is aware of any threat or potential threat against groups of Australians and then takes swift and appropriate action. Instead, more than a week from the breaking of the report about the explosives-laden caravan, which could have resulted in one of the most catastrophic acts of terror this country has ever seen, we have a prime minister who, despite his being asked in parliament on Tuesday and on Wednesday—and, I have no doubt, will be asked again today—the very basic question, 'When were you first briefed about this sickening incident?' hasn't failed to answer the question; he has deliberately hidden from answering the question. He has been asked multiple times—this is the Prime Minister of our country—when he first became aware of a planned mass-casualty act of terror against Sydney's Jewish community. And the sad thing is that, as the leader of our country—unlike the Labor premier in New South Wales, Chris Minns, who was able to front his people—