Hate speech laws could be ‘salvaged’ after backdown

Despite criticising Labor’s proposed hate speech laws as unsalvageable, the coalition is looking to get elements passed in an emergency session.

The coalition has left the door open to passing contentious hate speech laws, saying it will try to salvage parts of the watered-down legislation.

Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam criticised the government’s “shambolic” process in the rapid drafting of the changes in response to the Bondi terror attack.

Labor on Saturday ditched objectionable racial vilification elements of the legislation, which critics said threatened political freedoms, and split the provisions from proposed gun reforms.

That move put the onus on the coalition to approve changes its own leaders called for, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said on Sunday.

But there were still concerns about the remaining provisions because of the potential impact on freedom of speech, Senator Duniam said.

“We are still working through the provisions of the legislation and working with the government on their failed laws to see what can be salvaged from them,” he told reporters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday dumped his initial plan to push through the hate speech laws in an omnibus bill, which also included a planned gun buyback scheme.

The government now hopes to pass both bills by the end of an emergency session on Tuesday, but it will require the support of either the Greens or the opposition to get the measures through the Senate.

The Greens previously signalled they would only support the firearms proposal.

“It’s time for action,” Senator Gallagher said.

“These are really important responses to what we saw happen in Bondi. There is no reason to delay them. We’ve taken out the bit that people were concerned about.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry was disappointed by the removal of the racial vilification offence, arguing it sent a message that promoting racial hatred was not considered serious enough to be criminalised.

Senator Duniam said there were too many concerns with the provision’s impact on freedom of speech.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley previously labelled the omnibus bill “unsalvageable” as the hate speech element did not explicitly criminalise phrases such as “globalise the Intifada”.

The opposition has also complained that the prime minister did not provide it with an opportunity to have input into the design of the legislation.

But following the announcement that the bill would be split, senior figures from Mr Albanese’s office approached the opposition offering to work together and further amend the proposed laws to get them over the line, Liberal sources said.

Senator Duniam stood by his criticism that Labor had rushed the legislation process, despite Ms Ley initially demanding parliament be recalled before Christmas to put new laws in place.

The government should have worked with the opposition and other non-government parties from the start, rather than slapping it down on the table as a “take-it-or-leave-it proposition”, he said.

Even before the coalition formalised an official position on the reworked hate speech bill, renegade Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie was declaring his opposition to it on social media.

“When I look at the bill that’s going to be debated in parliament next week, I ask the question: will this stop a future Bondi attack?” he said in an Instagram post.

Legal experts, Jewish groups and influential religious leaders also criticised the bill as too rushed and broad.

By: Jacob Shteyman and John Kidman/AAP