QNews: ‘A hierarchy of harm’: Labor’s hate speech laws exclude LGBTQIA+ Australians
Michael Barnett OAM
‘A hierarchy of harm’: Labor’s hate speech laws exclude LGBTQIA+ Australians
The Albanese Government is fast-tracking what it says will be the toughest hate speech laws Australia has ever seen, recalling parliament two weeks early following the December 14 Bondi terror attack.
But while the proposed reforms are designed to target racial hatred and antisemitism, there are other vulnerable groups, including the LGBTQIA+ community, who have been left to the wolves.
What’s being proposed?
Parliament will sit on January 19 and 20 to debate a package of legislation that combines hate speech reforms with gun law changes.
The hate speech reforms would criminalise promoting or inciting hatred, or disseminating ideas of superiority or hatred towards another person or group of people based on their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.
It includes an aggravated sentence provision that would allow courts to impose harsher penalties if the motivation was racial hatred.
Though, according to Guardian Australia, who have obtained a draft of the bill, there’s a proposed legal defence to the rule that states this does not apply to an individual directly quoting a religious text.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the laws were necessary because, in his words today, “the terrorists at Bondi Beach had hatred in their minds, but guns in their hands.”
“This bill will get rid of both of those issues,” he said.
Who is excluded?
Despite ongoing calls from advocates, the proposed offence for promoting of inciting hatred and the aggravated sentencing provision does not apply to the LGBTQIA+ community or people with a disability.
This means hatred directed at people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity would not be covered.
Equality Australia says LGBTIQIA+ people were also excluded from the consultation process.
“We have been left in the dark, even though the criminal law being amended recognises us as an at-risk group,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill.
“Hatred in any form — whether racial, religious or targeting LGBTIQ+ people or people with a disability — has no place in our society.”
“Serious vilification laws must apply equally. The government should be stopping all hate before it turns violent, not creating tiers of protection.”
Australian Jewish LGBTIQA+ group, Aleph Melbourne, added how little sense it is to only protect half their identity.
“It makes no sense to us that half our identity is protected from hate and the other half isn’t,” Aleph Melbourne spokesperson, Michael Barnett, said
‘A hierarchy of harm’
Advocates warn the legislation risks further entrenching the idea that some forms of hate are worse than others.
“No one should be targeted because of their race or religion — and no one should be targeted because of their sexuality or gender identity,” Corkhill said.
“Creating a hierarchy of protections actively undermines social cohesion as well as the effectiveness of the law.”
Independent MP Allegra Spender has called the approach a double standard, arguing that hate speech laws should protect everyone targeted because of who they are.
“We need to send an unequivocal message that Australians are opposed to hate speech and extremism in all its forms,” Spender said.
“We know hateful groups like neo-Nazis have targeted Jewish Australians, but also Muslim and LGBT+ communities as well. Strengthening protections for one group does not come at the expense of any other.”
Spender previously proposed amendments that would extend protections beyond race, developed in consultation with Jewish and LGBTIQ+ organisations, including Equality Australia. Those amendments were defeated.
LGBTIQ+ advocacy group Just.Equal Australia raised similar concerns in December, with Rodney Croome AM calling on the rest of the community to act quickly and directly.
“Just.Equal Australia advocated for a wider hate speech package inclusive of LGBTIQA people soon after the Government announced it would focus on anti-Semitism and racist hate alone,” he told QNews.
“Passing laws against only one kind of hate means other forms are seen as [less] legitimate and less deserving of a response.
“It’s disappointing [others] have responded to LGBTIQA exclusion from Government hate speech laws only when the Opposition supported our exclusion.
“As a community we need to aim our advocacy directly, explicitly and urgently towards the Government and towards Labor members in inner-city seats.”
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Albanese’s reasoning
When asked directly why the legislation excludes other attributes, Albanese repeatedly pointed to the need for broad parliamentary support and raised concerns about unintended consequences.
He confirmed the government’s focus was on antisemitism following the Bondi attack, and said broader hate speech reforms could be considered later if this legislation passes.
The serious consequences of being ignored
For queer Australians, the consequences of exclusion are not just theoretical.
In one recent example reported by QNews, Kristie — a queer mother and artist behind the small business Indifferent Avocado — was allegedly subjected to death threats, bomb threats and coordinated harassment after a religious influencer encouraged his followers to target her online.
Her personal phone number was shared. Her business was mass-reported. Messages allegedly called for violence against her, her child and the queer community more broadly.
Police told Kristie there was little they could do. She was not the first alleged victim of this person either.
Under the proposed federal laws, this would still fall outside the new hate speech offence.
A warning from overseas
One has to wonder why the Australian government isn’t paying close enough attention to what is unfolding internationally. Or if they’re ignoring the escalating threats to our community entirely.
In the United States, genocide scholars have sounded the alarm over what they describe as escalating and coordinated attacks against transgender, nonbinary and intersex people.
These experts have warned that the US may already be in the early stages of genocidal violence against trans Americans with its attacks on trans healthcare, banning of LGBTQIA+ content in educational spaces, and rising threats of violence and harassment.
But this is not just a U.S. issue. The same conditions exist here.
Hate is increasingly normalised online. Queer people are routinely targeted, doxxed and threatened. Calls to “destroy” or “eradicate” LGBTIQIA+ communities are no longer fringe, yet remain mostly unaddressed by federal law.
The question now is: will the people’s representatives act before harm escalates further? For now, it seems unlikely.
As advocates have warned, stopping hate after it turns deadly is too late. The window for prevention is passing us by.