Greens Back Gun Reforms, Reject Hate Speech Laws
The Greens say they can not pass the government’s omnibus bill at the extraordinary sitting of Parliament, given the significant amount of reworking required to meet community concerns.
As legal experts, faith groups and the community have had the opportunity to look at the significant legislation, concerns have grown about the potential for unintended consequences, unanswered questions about the impact on political freedoms, and the exclusion of many groups from its protections.
However, the Greens, having consulted closely with gun safety advocates, are willing to pass the gun law reforms and, if the government is too, those changes can become law when parliament returns next week.
Leader of the Australian Greens Senator Larissa Waters said:
“The Greens are willing to work with the government to pass gun laws next week, but the rest of the omnibus bill needs a huge amount of work.
“With every hour that passes, more concerns are raised by legal experts, faith groups and the community about the Omnibus bill. This is complex legislation, with a lot of massive pitfalls and omissions, and the process to fix it can’t be rushed.
“We are willing to sit down with the government to find a way forward, but it’s clear that the amount of negotiations and legal analysis required to produce a good outcome can’t be done in the extremely tight timeframe the government has created. It may be simpler to start afresh with a bill that aims to protect everyone from hatred and discrimination.
“We need to keep all people in the community safe from discrimination and hatred, and good laws don’t come from rushed work.”
Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi said:
“After careful consideration, consulting with experts and engaging with community groups, the Greens have decided not to support this Bill. This is a dangerous piece of legislation that cannot be fixed.
“The Greens share the concerns of many members of the community across the spectrum, who have come forward with serious concerns about this legislation.
“The more we examine this Bill, the more red flags appear. We will not be party to legislation that could have chilling effects on political discourse and our right to protest, and which shamefully scapegoats migrants.
“Next week can still be an opportunity to take dangerous weapons off our streets, but we should not be rushing through legislation that fundamentally divides people by religion, or prevents people from critiquing governments and their human rights abuses, including Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“Parliament needs a proper process to deliver reforms that genuinely protect everyone from hate and racism, without undermining our rights. We could start this process today with the government implementing and funding the National Anti-Racism Framework.”
Greens spokesperson for Justice and Home Affairs David Shoebridge said:
“The Government’s proposal fails the test of bringing the community together at a time it is so needed.
“In a bill that is supposedly targeting hate, the government is trying to introduce sweeping changes to Migration laws to give the Minister new powers to cancel visas basically whenever he wants. Scapegoating migrants at this time is particularly appalling and unprincipled.
“We have heard from the community and experts that there are fundamental issues with almost every aspect of this bill that relates to immigration, proscribing organisations and hate speech. The plain fact is this is a rush job that the Parliament cannot properly address in a few short days.
“There is one part of the Bill that can become law next week. We are ready and willing to work with the Government to pass changes to firearms laws to promote community safety, like Greens do in every Parliament across the country.
“If the government is true to its word about wanting stronger national gun laws, it can have them next week with the Greens’ support.”
https://greens.org.au/news/media-release/greens-will-back-gun-law-reforms-will-not-support-governments-hate-speech-and