New hate speech laws in NSW are drawing attention for their focus on race-based hate and violence, but LGBTQ+ groups are concerned that it leaves out protections for other minority groups.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Thursday he would move to criminalise hate speech when parliament resumes next week, with a focus on racial hatred, antisemitism, and related hate crimes.
As reported by the ABC, the new bill aims to respond to a spate of incidents targeting the Jewish community in recent months, including vandalism and arson attacks.
A caravan full of stolen explosives was also discovered in the semi-rural suburb of Dural last month and it included a note with the address of a synagogue, Jewish people and antisemitic messaging.
If passed, the new laws — an amendment to Section 93Z of the Crimes Act — will now make it a criminal offense to intentionally incite racial hatred, with penalties of up to two years in prison.
It will also increase sentences for other hate-related offenses, such as displaying Nazi symbols near synagogues or places of worship.
“We’re doing this to send a clear message to the criminals,” NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said, per the ABC.
While the proposed hate speech bill has been praised for addressing race-based hate, advocacy organisations argue the scope does not include faith groups and the LGBTQ+ community.
Anna Brown, chief executive of Equality Australia, stressed that hate speech and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity are just as harmful as those motivated by race.
“Our laws should protect everyone against hate and bigotry regardless of who they are, where they come from or what they believe,” she said in a statement.
“Any community that is being targeted by hate deserves to be protected under the law.”
Acknowledging the urgency of addressing recent violent attacks, she urged Premier Minns to extend the legal protections to everyone impacted by hate.
Prioritising one group over another sets a dangerous precedent, she cautioned.
The LGBTQ+ community, Brown pointed out, has long suffered targeted attacks ranging from verbal slurs and online harassment to vandalism and bashings.
LGBTQ+ people “experience violence and hatred in unique and severe ways. Each day I worry about the next bashing victim or the next community event that has been intimidated into being cancelled,” she said.
“Hate and violence against any community is abhorrent and LGBTQ+ people are sadly among those in NSW who remain especially vulnerable to vilification and harm.”
MP Alex Greenwich also described the decision to progress with the hate speech laws as it applies to race as “nonsensical”, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I know from personal experience that neo-nazis and other hate groups are targeting LGBTQ+ people as well as people who are Jewish,” he said.
“Protecting one group but not another would be nonsensical, cruel and inappropriate … it sets a dangerous precedent to provide, for the first time, protections for one attribute but not others, and it risks sending the message that the government does not treat the incitement of hatred against those other groups as seriously.”
Notably, NSW Premier Minns has not ruled out a broader overhaul of hate speech laws, telling reporters it can be navigated but “it’s going to take a bit of time”.
Lead image: Michael Currie and Izhar Khan/Getty Images
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