Australia to toughen hate speech laws after Bondi Beach Jewish attack

By Ainslie Chandler

 

Australia will create new hate speech laws following an alleged Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday that killed 15 Jewish people who had gathered to celebrate Hanukkah. 

The package will include an aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence, increased penalties and make hate an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Thursday.

 

A regime will also be developed for listing organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech and a narrow federal offence created for serious vilification based on race and/or advocating racial supremacy, Albanese said following a meeting of the National Security Committee.

 

The prime minister is under intense pressure over his centre-left government’s handling of a rising tide of antisemitism over the past two years that critics say culminated in Sunday’s massacre. Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who lost family in the Holocaust, described the Bondi massacre as the “greatest stain” on Australia. 

 

“Every Jewish Australian has the right to be proud of who they are and what they believe,” Albanese said. “And every Jewish Australian has the right to feel safe, valued and respected.”

 

New powers will also be given to the minister for home affairs to “cancel or reject visas for those who spread hate and division in this country, or would do so if they were allowed to come here,” he said. 

 

Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal, who delivered a framework to combat antisemitism to the government this year, called the move “an important next step.” 

 

“This more formal response has been a long time coming but, of course, it does build on a range of activities and work that started as soon as the report was delivered,” she said.

 

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Prominent business leader David Gonski will lead a 12-month education taskforce to ensure that the education system tackles and prevents antisemitism, Albanese said.

 

Ongoing Investigation 

The surviving gunman among the father-son duo in the Bondi Beach attack, a 24 year-old who’s been identified as Naveed Akram, was on Wednesday charged with 59 offenses including murder and terrorism. His 50-year-old father was killed in the shootout. 

 

More search warrants relating to the investigation will be executed in coming days, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said at the same briefing. The AFP is working with domestic and offshore partners to build a more complete picture of the movements of the offenders, in Australia and offshore, she added.

 

Islamic State flags were found in a vehicle registered to one of the gunmen, as it emerged that the pair had travelled to an area of the Philippines last month where Islamic State-aligned groups have operated. Philippine officials on Wednesday said there was no evidence that the shooters received training in the country.

 

The AFP has ongoing investigations into hate preachers and has specialist groups reviewing information relating to them, Barrett said. “These individuals who spew hatred and cause fear are on my radar,” she said.

 

New South Wales Parliament is due to reconvene Monday to consider tougher gun laws in response to the attack. Albanese, asked if he would recall the national parliament, said he was open to doing so.

 

“But we want to make sure that we get it right,” he said. “We want to also consult to make sure that there is broad support across the parliament for this.”

 

The crime scene at Bondi was lifted Thursday morning, after the operation at the site was concluded, state police said in a statement. Seventeen people remained hospitalised as of 8 am Thursday, the health department said.