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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday unveiled a comprehensive legislative package targeting hate speech and extremism, eight days after a terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that authorities describe as ISIS-inspired and anti-Semitic.
The measures, approved by Cabinet, include creating aggravated offences for hate preaching, establishing a system to list and ban prohibited hate organizations, and granting powers to cancel visas for individuals suspected of engaging in vilification or associating with terrorist groups.
Albanese apologized to Australia’s Jewish community for the attack, which occurred during Hanukkah celebrations, saying he feels “the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I’m Prime Minister.”
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the package includes a new aggravated offence targeting adults who seek to radicalize children. Officials noted that 17 of 33 people currently facing terrorism charges in Australian courts are minors, marking what Dreyfus called “unprecedented radicalisation of our youth.”
The legislation will be drafted over coming weeks for introduction in the new year, with consultation planned across the Jewish community and parliament. Albanese called for “urgency and unity, not division and delay,” drawing comparisons to Australia’s bipartisan response following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
The government rejected calls for a federal royal commission into the attack, instead supporting a New South Wales state inquiry and an existing Richardson Review of intelligence agencies.
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