Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and move:

That this bill now be read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

Bondi attack and antisemitism

14 December 2025 will be marked in history as one of Australia's most horrific and most tragic.

Fifteen innocent lives were lost, many more injured, and a national conscience was left forever scarred.

This Thursday, 22 January, will be observed as a National Day of Mourning.

Flags will fly at half-mast, and Australians will pause to honour the victims and reflect on the courage and compassion shown in the face of unimaginable horror.

Australia's many diverse communities are connected through generations by an invisible string that binds them to the culture, practices and beliefs of those who came before them. This vein of history brings richness and a sense of identity but, when confronted with hate, can be a source of trauma and pain of memory.

Australia is proudly home to a significant population of Holocaust survivors.

Many of those attending the Chanukah event survived, or were descendants of those who survived, that darkest period of modern history.

They stood side by side with others who had fled persecution.

They came to Australia seeking safety, a refuge from this most insidious hatred.

Seeking a community that saw their Jewish heritage as a contributor to the richness of the Australian character.

That sense of safety has been shattered.

As a community, as Australians, it is our responsibility to rebuild that trust.

Violent extremism starts with words

The violent terrorist attack we saw in Bondi did not occur spontaneously.

Violent extremism starts with words.

Words of hate.

Spread throughout the community by pernicious individuals and organisations.

This hatred is corrosive to a multicultural democratic society.

This Bill targets those that support violence, in particular violence targeted at a person because of their immutable attributes.

This conduct is criminal, but more than that, it is the seed of extremism.

The roots of terrorism.

It must be stamped out with the full force of the law.

Organisations that proffer these hateful ideologies must be outlawed and their composite members held accountable. Indeed, some of the cowards who spread hate as part of one such group have announced they will be disbanding in anticipation of the effectiveness of these laws.

Those that seek to exploit their position of trust, or radicalise our youth, must be met with serious penalties.

Visitors to our country who espouse these hateful views will be removed.

We must take our responsibility as a Parliament to stamp out hate incredibly seriously.

Government response

The Government has announced a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to examine the roots of hatred and division, and to strengthen the bonds that hold our society together.

But we cannot wait for its findings to act. Waiting a year gives in to the very people this Bill seeks to target—and leaves the safety of Australians exposed.

Today, the Government introduces the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026—a legislative package designed to combat hate, dismantle extremist networks and prevent violence before it occurs.

Criminal amendments

This Bill will increase penalties for those advocating or threatening violence against groups because of their protected attributes.

It will also ensure even greater penalties are available for those that exploit their position of trust as a religious official or other leader to spread violent extremism, or seek to radicalise children.

The Bill will introduce an aggravated sentencing factor for Commonwealth offences motivated by hatred based on race or national or ethnic origin.

Courts will be required to consider hate motivation when sentencing, ensuring any sentence acknowledges the additional harm to society caused.

The Bill will introduce a new framework to allow certain organisations to be listed as prohibited hate groups where they engage in hate crimes, or support or advocate the commission of these offences.

These groups which seek to spread hate, fuel division, and stoke violence, have avoided criminality for too long. They have no place in our society and this Bill will provide the Government with a mechanism to outlaw them, and to criminalise their activities.

In relation to the definition of a hate crime at subsection (5), the Government confirms that the provision is directed at serious conduct or the threat of serious conduct of a criminal nature.

As noted at paragraph 97 of the Explanatory Memorandum, we are not capturing conduct, or the threat of conduct, that includes being subjected to any force or impact that is within the limits of what is acceptable in everyday social interaction or to life in the community. It must be serious harm to a criminal standard under the current law.

For the avoidance of doubt, this provision does not trespass into legitimate free speech, including the implied freedom of political communication. It does not seek to capture lawful debate, robust criticism, religious discussion, or genuine political advocacy. And it does not target legitimate comedy, satire, or artistic expression.

What it does target is serious conduct of a serious nature, whether occurring in Australia or overseas, where the Director-General of ASIO must be satisfied the conduct would, or is likely to, increase the risk of politically motivated violence or promote communal violence. That threshold is deliberately high. It ensures the definition is tied to security risk and public safety, not mere commentary, and not mere offence.

The line is drawn where it should be drawn: at serious harm—harm of a kind that meets a criminal standard threshold. Harm by an organisation that impacts national security—that is Director General of Security's concern. That is the test. Not discomfort. Not disagreement. Not merely "I didn't like what was said.

Two years ago, this Government introduced offences for the public display of Nazi and terrorist organisation symbols. These symbols are representative of, and are used to convey, ideologies of hatred, violence and racism which are incompatible with Australian values.

This Bill will strengthen these offences and associated police powers to ensure greater operational effectiveness, including expanding the offences to capture symbols of any prohibited hate groups that are listed under the new framework.

Migration amendments

The Australian Government remains committed to protecting the community from the risk of harm posed by non-citizens who engage in hate motivated conduct or offences relating to the spread of hatred and extremism.

The current character framework is a key component of Australia's migration system, protecting the community from the risks posed by non-citizens with criminal histories or criminal intent, as well as non-citizens who may vilify a segment of the Australian community, incite discord or otherwise threaten public health, safety or good order.

The Bill will strengthen the legislative framework in the Migration Act by introducing specific grounds to enable the refusal or cancellation of a visa, if a non-citizen:

These new grounds will expressly capture conduct that spreads hatred and extremism, including in circumstances where a hate crime may have been committed, but there has been no criminal justice outcome.

The Bill will also amend the Migration Regulations so that if a non-citizen is refused a visa on character grounds, they are subject to the same permanent exclusion from Australia that currently applies when a visa is cancelled on character grounds.

Together these amendments will strengthen the character framework and ensure that when a non-citizen is involved in spreading hatred and division, their visa may be refused or cancelled.

Legislation alone cannot combat hate

This Bill did not come together on its own. To that end, I acknowledge the constructive engagement of the Jewish community, legal representatives, members of civil society and other advocates who helped shape the development of this Bill. Your feedback has been thoughtful and considered.

I also acknowledge the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for its scrutiny of the Exposure Draft that led to this Bill, and recognise the tireless work of the secretariat who supported the inquiry.

Finally, I acknowledge the work of the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Home Affairs, and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel who crafted this Bill with expertise and care.

This Bill should not be a moment for division or political point scoring.

This is a moment for national unity.

The colour of someone's skin or the God they pray to is not determinative of their worth.

Legislation alone cannot rid prejudice from people's minds.

Hate spreads, it fosters, it takes root, every time it is not called out.

It is our collective responsibility to stamp out this hatred out wherever we see it.

Our nation is strongest when we choose respect over division, and we must continue to invest in a community where everyone belongs. Where everybody can thrive.

The passage of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill will be a decisive step forward in achieving this.

It will send a loud and unequivocal message to all corners of this country that we must stand united in the face of racial hatred.

But more importantly, passage of this Bill will send a message that light will prosper over darkness.

The passage of this Bill will give us hope that Australia will continue to be a place of tolerance and that our diversity can be displayed with pride.

I commend the Bill to this chamber.