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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australians will be safer after gun and hate reforms passed in a late-night emergency sitting of parliament this week to pass laws after the Bondi Beach massacre.
However, the government failed to achieve all of its objectives, having abandoned racial vilification laws after not being able to gain support for the measures from either the Coalition or the crossbench.
“Australians are more safe because of these bills being carried … today we have laws that are stronger than they were yesterday,” he said.
How effective will these laws be, and what hurdles will they face?
What are the new gun laws in Australia?
The government established a gun buyback, but the scheme’s effectiveness relies on participation of the states. Federal laws cannot limit how many guns a citizen can own, so states would need to put a limit on gun ownership to require them to be surrendered.
NSW rushed through laws in December following the attack that included a firearm cap, but other states are yet to follow.
Albanese had initially secured an agreement to split the cost of the buyback 50-50 with the states, but Tasmania and the Northern Territory have since raised concerns over the cost, and Queensland has refused to participate, which has thrown its effectiveness into question.
The changes will also allow federal intelligence agencies to better share information with states and territories when they issue firearms licences, and further restrict gun imports.
Non-citizens will be barred from buying guns, which Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said would have had a direct effect on the Bondi attack because slain gunman Sajid Akram owned six weapons despite not being an Australian citizen.
What are the new hate laws, and which groups will be banned?
A new “hate group” listing has been created for organisations that advocate for hate crimes but don’t reach the threshold to be prescribed a terror organisation, with leaders facing 15 years in prison.
The home affairs minister has been given the power to list such groups that publicly incite hatred that causes a reasonable person who is a target “to be intimidated, to fear harassment or violence, or to fear for their safety”.
The minister must seek the advice of the head of Australia’s spy agency, ASIO, consult the attorney-general and brief the opposition leader on the decision.
Burke has put extremist groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir in his sights, and the laws had an immediate effect, with the neo-Nazi Nationalist Socialist Network announcing it would disband.
But concerns have been raised about how broad the powers could be, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong was repeatedly questioned on Wednesday about their scope and whether pro-Palestinian groups that say the State of Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza could be captured.
“It is not legislation which is designed to prevent differences of views and freedom of speech,” Wong told ABC Radio National. “What it is designed to do is to crack down on organisations which are seeking to incite hate crimes.
“Freedom of expression is important in our country, but I think with the rise of antisemitism and in the wake of the worst terrorist attack that this country has seen on Australian soil, we really do need to continue to strengthen our response to hate and those who seek to spread hate in our society.”
Another hurdle is that a key pillar of the original proposed laws – a racial vilification offence would have made it illegal to promote hatred of people because of their race, colour or national or ethnic origin – was abandoned after the Coalition and Greens said they would not support it.
How effective will these laws be?
It is uncertain how effective the other provisions will be, given they will not be underpinned by the lower threshold for what amounts to hate speech. Burke has lamented the laws being watered down, saying they were not as strong as he had hoped.
He has flagged that a key test for the reforms would be whether they stand up in court.
“Everything I do in this portfolio gets challenged in the courts. Absolutely everything,” he told Sky News. “The moment you become home affairs minister, you are the most litigated person in Australia.”
The home affairs minister has also been given greater powers to refuse or cancel visas of people who espouse hate. Other changes include increased penalties for hate speech and a new aggravated offence for “hate preachers” – religious or spiritual leaders who advocate or threaten violence – who now face 12 years in prison.
The ban on hate symbols has been strengthened, penalties are greater for adults who try to radicalise children, and courts will have to consider more seriously the sentences for offenders who are motivated by extremism.
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Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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