Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that his government will abandon plans to introduce federal racial vilification laws, acknowledging that the proposed legislation does not have the support of Parliament. The decision comes after the Greens declared they would back new gun laws but not the Government’s hate speech proposals.
In a press conference on Saturday, Mr Albanese confirmed that the omnibus bill aimed at tackling anti-Semitism and broader hate speech would not be debated as a single package. Instead, the Government will split the legislation into two separate bills that will remove provisions seeking to criminalise hate speech.
“We will not be proceeding with the racial vilification provisions because it’s clear that that will not have support,” Mr Albanese said.
He emphasised that the decision reflects the realities of the current parliamentary makeup. “The racial vilification laws do not have the support of the Senate. That is what the Greens Party and the Liberal Party have made clear. So, we deal with the Parliament that we have,” he said.
The original omnibus bill had sought to lower the threshold for federal hate speech offences from inciting violence to promoting hatred, a move designed to expand legal protections against discriminatory speech. However, critics of the legislation argued that it risked restricting free speech.
“The Greens are willing to work with the government to pass gun laws, but the rest of the omnibus bill needs a huge amount of work,” Greens leader Larissa Waters said on Saturday.
Following the setback, the Government confirmed that its immediate focus will shift to implementing a national gun buy-back scheme in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
The decision has drawn criticism from the Liberal Party, which described Mr Albanese’s announcement as a capitulation to political realities. A spokesman for Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the Prime Minister had abandoned the original bill without adequate scrutiny.
“He has decided to split what he told Australians was an un-splittable bill, including when directly asked by the Opposition Leader face-to-face, and he has made wholesale changes without hearing back from the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security, a process he said was critical for scrutinising the bill,” the spokesman said.
The Liberal spokesperson also criticised the truncated consultation process, highlighting that the Government ignored over 7,000 submissions from individuals and organisations that had rushed to meet the original legislative deadlines. “Not only has his timeline curtailed community voices from being heard, but now he ignores the inquiry altogether,” the statement said.
The opposition argued that Mr Albanese’s approach undermined transparency and accountability, adding that the Liberals would review the new proposals carefully. “Anthony Albanese told Australians he took the time to get this right, today makes clear that was not an honest statement. He cannot lecture the nation about unity after defying Australia on a Commonwealth Royal Commission and again attempting to push through flawed legislation,” the spokesman added.
The Prime Minister’s decision marks a significant retreat on a key social policy initiative, reflecting the challenges of navigating a divided Parliament. While the Government has achieved some bipartisan support on firearms reform, the broader agenda on hate speech is now effectively shelved, at least for the current term.
Parliamentarians have been recalled this week to debate the revised legislation, but it is clear that the contentious racial vilification provisions will no longer be part of the federal legislative agenda. Observers suggest that the Government will now prioritise measures perceived as politically achievable, such as the gun buy-back program, over more divisive social reforms.
As the political debate unfolds, public and parliamentary scrutiny is expected to remain intense, particularly around the balance between free speech protections and measures aimed at preventing hate speech and discrimination.
