Premier hails hate law revamp as toughest in the nation

Laws to tackle deepening hate and division have passed in parliament after the Victorian government bowed to demands for greater safeguards.

Beefed-up state hate laws have passed with last-minute protections for vulnerable groups, as the premier slams the opposition for standing in their way.

Without the coalition’s backing, Victoria’s Labor government struck a deal with the Greens to amend and pass its Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion Bill through the upper house.

Under the changes, a requirement has been retained for police to obtain the director of public prosecutions’ consent to charge people. Decision-makers must consider the social, historical and cultural context of parties in criminal cases.

An expanded religious exception was also narrowed to protect LGBTQI and other marginalised groups, the Greens said.

The changes were described by Greens MP Gabrielle de Vietri as safeguards preventing misuse of the laws against marginalised and over-policed communities.

“We’re pleased that Labor has worked with the Greens to pass a progressive bill instead of caving even further to the Liberals and right-wing campaigns,” she said.

The amended bill passed the lower house on Wednesday afternoon, with the Liberals and Nationals voting against it.

It extends vilification protections for race and religion to the characteristics of disability, gender identity, sex and sexual orientation, and creates new criminal offences making it easier to prove serious vilification in public, private or online.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the laws mean every person in the state would be “free from hate” regardless of who they were, prayed to or loved.

“This is the strongest framework of any jurisdiction in this nation,” she said.

She denied the hate laws were watered down, saying the Greens’ changes clarified the role of prosecutors and strengthened recognition of First Nations people.

Her government already removed an exemption for genuine political use to allay concerns among Jewish groups and the coalition.

But the Liberals and Nationals remained opposed, citing a change to the reasonable person test for civil provisions.

In parliament, Ms Allan accused the opposition of negotiating in bad faith and shifting the goalposts.

“It is a moment of history that will come back to haunt the Liberal Party,” she said.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the laws put an “obstacle” in the way of free speech and denied his party were on the wrong side of history.

“This bill is a bad bill for Victorians,” he told reporters.

“It will end up creating issues, clogging up the courts, seeing people sue each other rather than working to educate each other to actually create the society we want going forward.”

Since December, a Melbourne synagogue has been firebombed and swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans scrawled on vehicles and buildings in parts of Sydney with large Jewish communities.

Reports of Islamophobia in Australia have also risen by 600 per cent since the Israel-Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023, according to special envoy Aftab Malik.

The Zionist Federation of Australia and Zionism Victoria welcomed the passage of the anti-vilification laws.

In a joint statement, Jeremy Leibler, President of Zionist Federation Australia, and Elyse Schachna, President of Zionism Victoria, said: The Jewish community leadership unites in support of these hate laws, because those who perpetrate the most extreme acts of hatred must be held to account.

We have been facing an explosion of hatred in Australia at a time when Victoria’s hate speech laws have been broken – with one successful prosecution for serious vilification in over 20 years.

Everyone agrees that we must do more to counter serious vilification, and we congratulate the Government for listening to the Jewish community and other communities, and taking a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix our hate speech laws.”

Philip Zajac, President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria stated: “For years, the Jewish community has been advocating for stronger hate crime laws in Victoria. This took on a new urgency in 2023-24 with the explosion of antisemitism on our streets, and we called for action, not just words, in response.

 The passage of these new laws hopefully signals a new era in Victoria where those who are undermining our social cohesion face consequences for their destructive actions.

 The JCCV will work with our Jewish community and with police to ensure the laws help Jews and other minorities to live in safety and peace in Victoria.”

By: Callum Godde AAP with J-Wire