Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the member for Warringah for her question. It is certainly the case that some of the so-called political advocacy that we've seen increasingly being used in recent years has caused division, is aimed at distressing people and is aimed at spreading what is a hateful culture.

The example that the member has used compares Angela Merkel, who I think is a highly respected former chancellor of Germany. She is entitled to be treated with respect, and I certainly would do that, notwithstanding the fact that she certainly isn't from my side of politics in terms of the Social Democrats in Germany. But we are seeing a rise of hard-right politics that sometimes needs to be called out. On the matters that the member has raised, I'd be happy to have a discussion with her about whether the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters could give consideration to some of those issues. We do need to always ensure that people have freedom of expression, including freedom of political expression. We also need to make sure, of course, that, on the full range of issues, we ensure that disinformation and things that are simply not right are able to be called out. The Minister for Communications might like to add to that as well.

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