The Morrison government risks a clash with churches and free speech advocates over controversial changes to discrimination law amid calls to toughen protections against vilification and violence.
The government is being urged to draft new sanctions against those who vilify people on the basis of their religion, introducing a matching law to existing sanctions against those who offend or insult people on the basis of race.
But the proposal is certain to polarise the government backbench after bruising debates in recent years over the conflict between freedom of speech and the use of discrimination law to stop remarks that cause offence.
…
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, said the passage of new laws in NSW last year against incitement to violence offered a possible template for federal law.
Section 93Z of the NSW Crimes Act makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly threaten or incite violence towards someone on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.
“We think that’s the way to go and the government ought to be replicating that federally,” Mr Wertheim said, saying the NSW provision was simpler and more effective than existing measures in state and federal law.
On sanctions against religious vilification analogous to Section 18C, however, he said problems arose with legislating against causing offence regarding a belief.
“The case for that sort of legislative reform is much weaker,” he said.
The draft bill is expected after July 22 and will be followed by a Senate inquiry that runs for months.
“It is not going to be easy and the scope for unintended consequences is very wide if it is not done carefully,” Mr Wertheim said.
Read the article by David Crowe in The Sydney Morning Herald.