Hefty prison terms in antisemitism, racism crackdown

Multiple states are beefing up vilification laws in a push to curb antisemitism and other racist crimes, but some groups are worried they are an overreach.

Two states are moving to strengthen racial vilification laws after a spate of antisemitic incidents, despite vehement protests the changes will criminalise free speech.

People making racist remarks publicly could spend up to two years in prison, with a fine of more than $10,000 under tough proposed laws as NSW deals with escalating graffiti and vandalism incidents.

Victoria will also debate two new offences making it easier to prove serious vilification in public, private or online.

The offences cover inciting hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule against another person or group based on a protected attribute, as well as threatening physical harm or property damage for the same reason.

Maximum penalties include five years in prison for those convicted on the threat charge and three years for the incitement offence.

Jewish community groups and the Victorian opposition railed against an exemption for genuine political use over fears it could offer a loophole for vilification under the guise of politics.

The state Labor government will remove that defence to the criminal incitement offence, as well as adding “proselytising and preaching” into civil religious purpose exceptions.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the government had acted to address those concerns.

“The global rise of hate is abhorrent to so many of us, that for some, they are using this as an opportunity to vilify, using this as an opportunity to spread evil,” she said.

But the state opposition flagged they would still not back the bill, with Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien saying the coalition wanted the civil protections split off as they would change what constitutes harm to a more “subjective” view.

Meanwhile, the NSW government on Tuesday introduced legislation to make it a crime to intentionally and publicly incite hatred towards another person, or group of people, on the grounds of race.

The bill will establish a new section in the state’s Crimes Act with a proposed offence stipulating it must be a public deed that intentionally incites hatred based on race.

The changes come despite a November review that recommended not broadening the laws or introducing other offences to curb public incitement of hatred.

“(Since November) I have seen an outrageous escalation in racial hatred on the streets of Sydney, particularly anti-Semitic hate crimes,” Premier Chris Minns said.

“And to say ‘There’s not much we can do about that, we don’t want to send a clear message’, I believe is completely intolerable.”

Rights groups are concerned the law could be abused in its application if demonstrations happened near religious institutions.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties said the government was “driving hatred” with the laws, adding they could adversely impact already marginalised communities.

“It’s a classic example of how our premier is overreacting to current climates,” president Tim Roberts said.

“Chris Minns is not making laws just for the Jewish community, he’s making laws for us all and these laws propose incredibly large criminal and financial prosecution and consequences for merely speaking.

David Ossip, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said: “We welcome the NSW Government’s hate speech to be introduced into Parliament today.

These urgent changes will give law enforcement agencies the legal basis to criminally pursue those who incite hatred on the basis of race.

This package strikes a sensible balance by only criminalising hate speech which is so egregious that it would cause a reasonable person who was the target of the hate speech to fear for their safety or apprehend violence, intimidation or harassment.

History and recent experience has taught us that what starts with words rarely ends there. We know that individuals do not commit crimes motivated by hate in a vacuum. Hateful rhetoric presages hateful acts of violence.

Hate speech is dehumanising and, it its worst and most egregious form, provides the platform and justification for the inevitable acts of violence which follow – whether it’s vandalising a synagogue, burning down a childcare centre or allegedly harming Jewish patients in hospital.

The proposed reform does not target speech which merely offends or insults, but rather hate speech which is so serious that violence is likely to follow.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said the scope of the laws should be widened to cover incidents that did not occur in public.

Two Bankstown nurses who said they wouldn’t treat Israeli patients and suggested they would instead kill them could not have been prosecuted under the proposed laws if they hadn’t been distributed publicly, the group said.

The influencer who shared the video – a former Israeli soldier who still resides in that country – is in the process of finalising a statement with police.

The government maintains freedom of political speech will be protected and makes an exception “for directly referencing religious texts during religious teachings.”

Since December, synagogues have been firebombed, multiple cars have been torched and swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans scrawled on vehicles and buildings in areas with large Jewish communities.

By Alex Mitchell, Callum Godde and Farid Farid in Sydney/AAP with J-Wire