Australia: The prime minister of summons parliament to enact gun control and hate speech legislation
Australia: In reaction to the Bondi terror incident on December 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that the Australian parliament would be brought back next week to enact additional firearms and hate speech legislation.
At a news conference, the prime minister announced that both chambers will reconvene on January 19 and 20, ahead of the February 2 return date.With firearms in their hands, the terrorists at Bondi Beach harbored hate. We must address both, and this bill will address both,” Albanese said.
A wide range of reforms are included in the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill, such as harsher penalties for hate crimes, new serious offenses for hate preachers who try to radicalize young Australians and incite hatred to intimidate and harass, and a more stringent prohibition on symbols that are forbidden.
If approved, the measure would also allow the home affairs minister to designate organizations as banned hate groups and make it simpler for the minister to revoke or deny a visa to anybody who intends to preach hatred.
Before discussing the law, the government will make a motion of condolence to honor the attack victims.
According to the Xinhua news agency, the law would also establish the National weapons Buyback Scheme with the goal of “getting guns off” Australian streets.The prime minister said, “We want to make sure that Australia continues to be a society where everyone has the right to be proud of who they are, and we also want to make it clear that conduct that is hateful, dangerous, and divisive will also be illegal.”
Following the terror assault at Sydney’s Bondi Beach earlier on January 8, Anthony Albanese has announced a royal inquiry investigating antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia.
At a news conference in Canberra, Albanese had said that his government would appoint a royal commission, Australia’s highest investigation body. The commission would be headed by former High Court judge Virginia Bell and would provide a report by the middle of December.