Overview
- Cabinet curtailed the attorney-general’s authority to administratively ban only symbols, sending any word or phrase bans to parliament.
- The bill now explicitly outlaws “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada,” with any further additions requiring new legislation.
- The hate‑speech offence carries a maximum two-year jail term and extends warrantless police stop-and-search powers to suspected offenders.
- The package also tightens some firearms laws, adding citizenship requirements for new licence applicants, higher penalties, and new offences for drive-by shootings at places of worship, while rejecting a national buyback and mandatory mental‑health assessments.
- Following a condensed 17‑day review that drew more than 300 critical submissions, the government plans to pass the hate‑speech and gun reforms this week with Labor’s support.