The Albanese government will split its proposed hate speech and gun control reforms into separate pieces of legislation, dropping a racial vilification offence from the hate speech bill after the Greens signalled opposition. The omnibus bill, introduced in response to the Bondi terror attack, faced resistance from both the Coalition and the Greens over civil liberty and free speech concerns.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Saturday that the racial vilification provisions would be removed to speed up parliamentary approval. 'The gun laws will be separate and then the laws on hate crimes and migration will proceed. But we will not be proceeding with the racial vilification provisions because it's clear that that will not have support,' he told reporters at Parliament House.
The Greens had refused to support the hate speech laws but agreed to back the gun control measures. Greens leader Larissa Waters said the bill needed 'a huge amount of work' and suggested starting afresh with a bill that 'aims to protect everyone from hatred and discrimination.' The government needs the support of either the Greens or the Coalition to pass the legislation in the Senate, where it does not hold a majority.
The now-dropped racial vilification clause had proposed criminalising the public promotion or incitement of hatred where the conduct would cause a reasonable person to feel intimidated, harassed or fear violence. The law included a narrow defence for quoting religious texts for teaching or discussion purposes. The new legislation will be introduced in the lower house on Tuesday before proceeding to the Senate.
