Law makers continue to enact hate crime laws, suppressing free speech |
Anne Twomey, a constitutional lawyer at the University of Sydney is concerned that the plethora of new state and federal laws to combat hate are having an adverse impact on free speech.
This is what she told the New South Wales parliamentary inquiry looking at measures to combat far-right extremism on February 19.
Twomey told the committee that while some people will feel “visceral anger” that their right to express themselves had been curbed, the “real risk” is when people feel they have to use other means, such as violence, to get their message across. Twomey is not alone in identifying this risk.
The NSW parliamentary inquiry is considering laws that might prevent a repeat of last year’s November 8 neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament along with new laws introduced afterwards that seek to crack down on such protests. There is also the question of whether all these new laws are necessary.
Laws against far-right individuals are not the only new criminal measures NSW Labor is contemplating.
The inquiry into banning some political slogans recommended Labor prohibit the phrase “Globalise the intifada”. NSW Premier Chris Minns is determined to ban it, alleging the pro-Palestine movement created the conditions for the terrorist attack at Bondi. In fact, “Globalise the intifada” has not been a........