Independent MPs on hate speech laws: ‘We can’t afford to wait any longer’
Tom McIlroy
A group of independent MPs – including Allegra Spender, whose electorate of Wentworth includes Bondi Beach – has called on parliament to work across partisan lines to pass hate speech laws.
“The victims, families and Jewish community leaders have been united in their calls for a strong response,” the group said on Friday in a joint statement.
MPs including Nicolette Boele, Monique Ryan and Zali Steggall have all joined the statement, which reads:
The Royal Commission is part of it, but we also need urgent action on the issues that can be addressed quickly in a way that keeps the Jewish community and Australians of all faiths and backgrounds safe.
We have a bill being introduced next week – it is imperfect, but as MPs we have a responsibility to work on this legislation together to get it right for all Australians.
The Liberals and Nationals called for urgent action, now they must follow through. If there are differences within the Coalition, then at the very least they must give their MPs the opportunity for a conscience vote.
The Greens have flagged their concerns about hate speech and gun laws, now they have the opportunity to help shape laws to tackle these issues.
We urge all MPs to negotiate in good faith to deliver concrete action.
We can’t afford to wait any longer.
Key events
Dealing with the Coalition like ‘trying to grab smoke’, Albanese says
Albanese added:
At the moment this is like trying to grab smoke, trying to get an arrangement with the Coalition.
I say to the Coalition, if you can let me know now what they are prepared to vote for, I will respond to any question people have, because at the moment I am not sure what it is, and I don’t think they know either.
Albanese says government still open to other ideas on hate speech laws
The prime minister is still calling for bipartisanship when it comes to the proposed hate speech laws after both the Coalition and the Greens expressed serious concerns, just days before parliament is set to return.
He said the government is still open to other ideas, but criticised the opposition for not putting forward concrete plans:
The parties of government should be supporting this across the board. We have said if you have ideas for changes, please put them forward. The Coalition are yet to put forward a single proposed change.
The opposition seem to think they can be defined by just what they are against. I want to know what they are for. What changes are they for? … That is what I’m trying to do. Not playing politics, I have not been shouting, banging lecterns, I have not been engaged in performative conduct.
eSafety commissioner says government has opened second investigation into Grok
Julie Inman-Grant said the government has opened a second investigation into Grok, X’s AI chatbot. She said:
I’m happy to talk about Grok, we just launched a second investigation …
While we are [thinking] about social media today, we think about how we protect young people from an even more potential catastrophic harm from AI.
We’re chasing more information and we’ll bring it to you when we have more. For now, read more here:
Communications minister celebrates staring down big tech
Anika Wells, the communications minister, said the success of the ban came after a standoff with some of the most powerful tech companies in the world. She said:
They said it couldn’t be done but Australia is showing just how we could do it … We took a year to get the details right, we stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters, and now Australian parents can be confident that their kids can have their childhood back.
Julie Inman-Grant, the eSafety commissioner, said the government never expected the ban to eliminate “every single breach”, but said the effort was about “flipping the script a little bit” while building digital and algorithmic literacy in the years to come.
Albanese says social media ban is working, a ‘source of Australian pride’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Brisbane, where he is touting the government’s social media ban for under-16s.
He said:
A little more than a month ago, Australia took action to protect our kids, to give kids back their childhood and to give parents peace of mind, to make sure that social media companies understood that they had a social responsibility.
Today we can announced that this is working. 4.7 million accounts gone, suspended, stopped. Meaning that young people instead of being on their devices during their school holidays have been cycling around facilities such as this, have been reading books, have been engaging with their friends and family on a one-to-one basis, interacting, making an enormous difference to them.
He added the ban was a point of “Australian pride” that is being followed-up around the world.
Watchdog to review Victoria’s bushfire season
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s bushfire season will be reviewed by the state’s emergency management watchdog, the Allan government has confirmed.
The decision came in a statement late on Thursday, just hours after the United Firefighters Union secretary, Peter Marshall, Across Victoria Alliance’s Andrew Weidemann and Country Fire Authority Volunteers Group president John Houston gathered on the steps of parliament to call for an upper house inquiry into the handling of the fires.
The trio had argued an inquiry led by non-government MPs would be “non-partisan” and “actually get to the bottom of what we know the truth to be”. Marshall said:
I’m not saying we could have stopped these fires, but firefighters need the truth … and indeed, the outcome may have been very much different if they had had the equipment [they needed]. A parliamentary inquiry is so important, and that is to make the government of the day accountable.
However, a government spokesperson said the matter would be investigated by the inspector general for emergency management, as was the case after the 2019-20 black summer fires.
The spokesperson said in a statement:
These fires have caused immense heartbreak across Victoria, and we are standing alongside affected communities as they begin the difficult task of rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. When communities are hurting, our focus must be on recovery and support.
We are not out of the woods yet with high-risk fire danger days ahead. Once the risk is reduced, we will request a formal review into this bushfire season led by the Inspector General for Emergency Management, not politicians.
The Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM) was established for exactly this purpose – to provide expert advice so we can continually improve our response.
Josh Taylor
More than 4.7m social media accounts blocked after Australia’s under-16 ban came into force, PM says
More than 4.7m social media accounts held by Australians who platforms have judged to be under 16 years of age were deactivated, removed or restricted in the first days after the ban came into effect in December, the prime minister has said.
After the social media ban came into effect on 10 December, the eSafety commissioner sent questions to each of the platforms covered by the ban asking how many accounts had been removed in order to comply with the law.
The 10 platforms the government announced were covered by the ban were Twitch, Kick, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, X, TikTok and Reddit.
According to data received in response to these questions, released by the prime minister on Thursday, more than 4.7m accounts were deactivated, removed or restricted in the first few days of the ban.
Read more here:
Independent MPs on hate speech laws: ‘We can’t afford to wait any longer’
Tom McIlroy
A group of independent MPs – including Allegra Spender, whose electorate of Wentworth includes Bondi Beach – has called on parliament to work across partisan lines to pass hate speech laws.
“The victims, families and Jewish community leaders have been united in their calls for a strong response,” the group said on Friday in a joint statement.
MPs including Nicolette Boele, Monique Ryan and Zali Steggall have all joined the statement, which reads:
The Royal Commission is part of it, but we also need urgent action on the issues that can be addressed quickly in a way that keeps the Jewish community and Australians of all faiths and backgrounds safe.
We have a bill being introduced next week – it is imperfect, but as MPs we have a responsibility to work on this legislation together to get it right for all Australians.
The Liberals and Nationals called for urgent action, now they must follow through. If there are differences within the Coalition, then at the very least they must give their MPs the opportunity for a conscience vote.
The Greens have flagged their concerns about hate speech and gun laws, now they have the opportunity to help shape laws to tackle these issues.
We urge all MPs to negotiate in good faith to deliver concrete action.
We can’t afford to wait any longer.
SES advises large stretch of NSW south coast to be prepared for possible flash flooding
The NSW SES is advising a large portion of the state’s south coast, from Wollongong down to the coastal border with Victoria, to be on alert for forecasts of heavy rainfall and damaging winds that could lead to possible flash flooding.
The area includes Nowra, Batemans Bay, Eden, Braidwood and Bega.
Officials said the forecast could change quickly, urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel, prepare emergency kits and stay on top of alerts from emergency officials. A damaging surf warning is also in place for coastal locations between Eden and Ulladulla.
The agency said:
HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is possible over parts of the South Coast this morning, with this risk spreading to parts of the Illawarra from later in the morning. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 50 and 80 mm are likely, and isolated totals up to 120 mm are possible.
If you missed it, here is our Full Story podcast with Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Abdel-Fattah still plans to pursue defamation action against SA premier
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah just spoke about her acceptance of the apology yesterday, saying she believes it was a “vindication of my right to speak out as a Palestinian against racism and genocide, and also my very firm belief that this is a vindication of the power of collective solidarity”.
She spoke to RN Breakfast, saying she still plans to pursue defamation action against the South Australia premier, Peter Malinauskas, claiming he had thrown “wild accusations and allegations and claims” about her in the turmoil surrounding the festival.
I’m really fed up with the way that my words are being deliberately and maliciously and mendaciously mischaracterised to paint me as an antisemite when I have never, ever, ever expressed any antisemitism against Jewish people. I stand in solidarity with anti-Zionist Jews as a Palestinian who was feeling the real-life impacts of a genocide in the name of Zionist ideology on my people.
I think also it’s a bit rich for the premier to be constructing his words against me on the basis of him speaking with compassion and sincerity.
Read more here:
Adelaide festival executive director says apology to Abdel-Fattah came ‘because we meant it’
The Adelaide festival executive director, Julian Hobba, said the body issued an apology to Randa Abdel-Fattah yesterday “because we meant it” as a “sincere expression of how we feel”.
Hobba spoke to RN Breakfast, saying the apology was consistent with the “best values of Adelaide festival and our longstanding commitment over decades to creating a space where people can express and debate ideas freely and in a civil way”, adding:
We issued the apology because we meant it. Because it’s a sincere expression of how we feel, and it was the determination of the board that it was the way to bring Adelaide festival back into best alignment with its values.
Hobba said there has been no detailed conversation yet about who will be the director of the next Adelaide writers’ week in 2027 or beyond.
