Liberal senator Paul Scarr has called for Labor’s hate speech bill to be expanded to create an offence of “urging or threatening” an attack on a place of worship, amid a surge in anti-Semitism. Source: The Australian.
A Senate committee scrutinising the legislation, which will make it a serious criminal offence to threaten to use force or violence against a group, has recommended the Parliament pass the legislation when it returns in February.
The bipartisan committee of senators also recommended the Government establish a federal database to track hate crimes, monitor their occurrence and inform future responses.
In a report handed down yesterday following an inquiry which heard evidence from faith leaders, equality and disability advocates, Senator Scarr said he supported the bill but urged the need for the laws to capture attacks, such as the one inflicted on the Adass Israel Synagogue.
“Given events of the last week, there is a clear case to be made for expanding the offences to include the urging or threatening of attacks against places of worship,” he said in the report.
“It is recommended that the offences be expanded to include the urging or threatening of attacks against places of worship.”
Labor senator Nita Green, who chaired the inquiry, said the committee agreed the changes to strengthen existing criminal laws banning hate speech were “sadly necessary”.
Senator Green said the committee had rejected calls for the bill to introduce a “serious vilification offence”, reasoning the legislation already addressed the most extreme forms of hate speech.
The bill, introduced by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, will criminalise threats to use force or violence against a group, or a member of a group, where a reasonable member of the targeted group fears the threat will be carried out.
The new offence would be punishable with up to five years in prison or seven years in instances where it threatens the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth.
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Hate laws ‘must protect places of worship’, says Liberal senator Paul Scarr (By Rhiannon Down, The Australian)
