Hate slogans inquiry won’t hold any public hearings
An inquiry into how the government can ban slogans, including “globalise the intifada”, has given stakeholders just three weeks over the holiday shutdown period to provide submissions.
A NSW Labor-controlled parliamentary inquiry examining how to ban hateful slogans in the wake of the Bondi massacre will not hold any public hearings as it scrambles to have a report finalised by the end of the month.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, whose electorate includes Bondi, has criticised the lower house inquiry, saying it was being rushed for the sake of good headlines as interest groups have been given just three weeks over the Christmas and New Year period to prepare a submission.
Liberal leader Kellie Sloane comforts mourners at Bondi Beach.Credit: Janie Barrett
The law and safety committee, which does not include any Liberal MPs, has been asked to consider how the state government can ban phrases such as “globalise the intifada” without infringing on the implied freedom of political communication.
The inquiry comprises four Labor MPs, independent Philip Donato, Greens MP Tamara Smith and Nationals MP Paul Toole.
Referred on December 22, interest groups have until January 12 to make written submissions to the inquiry before a final report is produced to the government by the end of the month.
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“You have to ask yourself what the point of this inquiry is,” Sloane said. “It’s rushed over the holiday season, with no notice, no public hearings and an impossibly short deadline.
“If the government is serious about tackling hate speech and antisemitism in our community, they would establish a comprehensive inquiry, affording communities the opportunity to engage.”
Committee chair Edmond Atalla, a Labor MP, said more than 100 different groups had been directly contacted to contribute to the inquiry, which he insisted was working throughout the traditional shutdown period. That work, he said, includes speaking with officials in Britain, where five individuals were arrested for intifada chants just days after the Bondi attack.
“Repeated hate slogans could lead a person to be full of hate, and could lead a person to take the matter a step further into violence,” Atalla said. “Australia has no place for hate slogans.”
The terms of reference ask the committee to consider specifically the threat that the phrase “globalise the intifada” and others like it pose to community cohesion, how to prevent the use of phrases that lead to incitement of hatred, and the constitutionality of any bans.