The government remains committed to introducing anti-discrimination laws to prevent religious hate speech, the attorney-general says as pressure mounts over anti-Semitic and Islamophobic sentiment.
The opposition says it will back further tranches of legislation to strengthen penalties against hate speech as Jewish groups prepare to take legal action against anti-Semitic sermons.
There is no place for anti-Semitic or other hate speech in Australia, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says.
"The Albanese government is committed to introducing legislation to prevent discrimination against people of faith and to protect people from being vilified because of their faith," he told AAP.
"Labor has a long record of supporting strong protections against hate speech and vilification."
The laws are expected to be introduced in the first half of 2024.
The rise in intolerance across Australia since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 was deeply concerning, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said.
"We are a country that has said we welcome people from all types of backgrounds, but there is one precondition that comes with that," he told Sydney radio station 2GB.
"Leave your troubles at the door, leave your troubles behind - come to Australia and respect the differences."
It follows a bomb hoax against a Palestinian supporter in Sydney, with a threat to take down their Palestinian flag.
"It cuts both ways well and truly, and somebody who is peacefully flying a flag should absolutely not be subject to this type of intimidation or attack - it has no place," Senator Birmingham said.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is targeting Islamic clerics accused of preaching hate and inciting violence during a series of sermons.
Such sermons and hate speech were intended to "terrorise the Jewish community, turn Australian against Australian and make hatred of the Jews a religious duty", the council's co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said.
Anti-Semitism went against both Islamic and Australian culture and governments needs to combat it through law and education, he said.
"Our history shows us again and again that when preachers and clerics use their platforms to incite against us, lives are lost," he said.
"We're not going to wait for that to happen."
But it shouldn't need to be left up to the Jewish community or individuals to launch legal action against radical preachers, Senator Birmingham said.
"They should be led by government and delivered by government," he said.
"Action should have been taken strongly, emphatically with moral leadership as well as legal action."
