The New South Wales Parliament has tabled the final report of its inquiry into slogans that incite hatred, recommending a limited change to the law focused on a single phrase rather than a broader expansion of hate speech offences. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The report, tabled on January 30, makes the key recommendation that the public use of the phrase “globalise the intifada”, and close variations of it, be criminalised under state law.
However, the parliamentary committee stressed that the offence should apply only where the phrase is linked to a specific material harm, such as incitement to hatred, harassment, intimidation, or violence. It further recommended that any new legislation be subject to a formal review after 12 months.
The inquiry was established amid heightened public debate following recent incidents of antisemitic violence and unrest, and was tasked with examining whether particular slogans should be prohibited under NSW law.
Its terms of reference included consideration of international approaches, including the hate speech regime operating in the United Kingdom.
Rather than proposing to replicate overseas models, the committee noted the UK framework and recommended the NSW Government await the outcome of the British review currently underway, as well as assess the impact of new hate speech laws passed by federal Parliament in January.
No further recommendations were made to expand hate speech offences in NSW, and the committee did not propose broader prohibitions on slogans or political speech beyond the specific phrase identified.
The report’s restrained approach signals caution about extending criminal law into the realm of speech.
Many submissions, including from the Sydney Archdiocese, urged the Government to not risk unnecessary restriction of expression, saying the criminalisation of hate speech is often “imprecise, subjective, arbitrary and inconsistent.”
The Government must respond to the report within six months.
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NSW hate slogan inquiry recommends narrow criminalisation (By Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly)
