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

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table the explanatory memorandum and I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

President, this is a Bill that should be supported by every Senator in this chamber.

The Coalition is proud to introduce this Bill which amends the Criminal Code Act of 1995 to prohibit the display of Nazi symbols.

There is absolutely no place in our civil society for Nazi symbols which are directly linked to one of the most heinous regimes in the history of the world.

Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany carried out the deliberate, calculated and organised mass murder of six million European Jews as well as five million prisoners of war and other victims.

The Nazis' systemic and state sponsored campaign of persecution dehumanised an entire people. But it was much worse than that. The Nazi regime's industrialised extermination resulted in the Holocaust, one of the worst crimes committed in history.

The Nazi regime is one of the greatest evils ever visited on humanity. Nazism is a vile ideology of unparalleled hate.

Because of what they represent, this evil, this terror, Nazi symbols are no ordinary symbols.

We must condemn Nazi symbols in any form that they are found or are displayed.

What we saw unfold on the streets of Melbourne last weekend was absolutely unacceptable and quite disgraceful.

Every Australian should find the actions of that small group of protesters, who used the Nazi salute, offensive and every Senator in this place should condemn those actions.

Those who display Nazi symbols or use the Nazi salute are either ignorant of the past or they are deliberately promoting evil.

The Nazi salute is a symbol clearly associated with the Nazi ideology, and has no place in Australian public life.

The public display of Nazi symbols is abhorrent to the Australian way of life and has no part in our political discourse.

All Australians are diminished by the sharing and glorification of an ideology which is characterised by genocide, mass murder and other forms of persecution.

Australians are entitled to feel proud that, together with allies around the globe, we as a nation fought against the Nazi threat over the course of the Second World War.

Prohibiting the display of Nazi symbols aligns with our values and our heritage as Australians.

Noting the national security risks connected with far-right extremist groups that are often associated with the display of Nazi symbols, and the related risks to public order, the Bill is a modest and proportionate measure that protects civil discourse in our country.

Sadly, the reason this Parliament must act is that disturbingly there is a growing number of cases of the glorification of Nazism in Australia.

The Director-General of Security has spoken about the growth of grievance motivated violent extremism. He said, 'As a nation we need to reflect on why some teenagers are hanging Nazi flags and portraits of the Christchurch killer on their bedroom walls and others are sharing beheading videos. Just as importantly, we must reflect on what we can do about it.'

Since the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany in the 20th Century, Nazi symbols have been synonymous with antisemitic thoughts and actions, including the devastation of the Holocaust. That association remains to this day.

Australia is a tolerant and multicultural country. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 both confirm that every Australian has the right to live free from discrimination based on their race and religion, among other factors.

When we talk about Nazi symbols we are talking about a symbol or action commonly associated with the Nazi party.

It includes the Nazi swastika, the Nazi salute, Nazi uniforms and other types of symbols identified in the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's anti-Semitism reports.

In seeking to amend the Criminal Code, we seek to make it an offence to display such symbols without a reasonable excuse.

A person would have committed an offence if the person displays a Nazi symbol or the person knows that the symbol is a Nazi symbol.

The penalty for an offence is imprisonment for 12 months or 100 penalty units ($27,500 as at March 2023). These penalties are broadly consistent with penalties imposed under similar legislation in New South Wales.

The amendments make clear that religious symbols that are sometimes confused with Nazi symbols are not captured by the prohibition. In particular, the display of a swastika in connection with Buddhism, Hinduism or Jainism does not constitute the display of a Nazi symbol.

To ensure the prohibition does not interfere with the vital work of teaching young people about the evils of the past, there are limitations and carve-outs in terms of genuine educational, scientific and artistic purposes such as films and documentaries.

The prohibition does not apply to journalism or where symbols are displayed for another purpose in the public interest.

Some may complain that this legislation will limit freedom of expression. It is important to note that while the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects freedom of expression it does allow for freedom of expression to be limited to protect the rights or reputations of others, national security, public order, or public health or morals.

Limitations must be prescribed by legislation necessary to achieve the desired purpose and must be proportionate to the need on which the limitation is predicated.

The display of Nazi symbols is closely associated with extremist groups that may pose a national security risk to Australia, and with protest action that presents a highly visible threat to public order.

The public display of Nazi symbols is often associated with incitement to violence that can impede the ordinary, civil discourse that is the lifeblood of our democracy.

With this in mind, we contend that this legislation is justified and the limitation on freedom of expression is proportionate and reasonable.

President, this is an issue that should be able to unite this chamber. That is certainly the spirit in which this Bill is brought into this place.

We should be able to work together in this Chamber on issues on national importance.

It is important that we send the right signal, particularly to young people and in particular young men in this country who are most likely to be influenced and often indoctrinated into radical extremism.

This Bill sends the sort of strong signal that is needed especially when so many young people can be quickly and effectively influenced online by those wishing to spread their evil messages.

In the wake of what we saw on the streets of Melbourne last weekend I urge all in the Chamber to support this Bill. It is the right time to send a clear message that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable in our great Nation.

There are times when those of us who are privileged enough to be elected to serve in this place are required to move decisively and quickly to deal with an issue—this is one of those times.

I commend the Bill to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.