Overview
- Legislation set for introduction this week would criminalise the public use of “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” when intended to cause menace, harassment or offence, with a maximum penalty of two years’ jail.
- The package expands existing symbol prohibitions to include Nazi emblems as well as Hamas, Islamic State and Hezbollah insignia, and lifts the maximum penalty for displaying them from six months to two years.
- New and strengthened offences protect places of worship, including five years’ jail for assaulting or threatening an officiant, three years for impeding or harassing attendees, and up to seven years for wilful damage.
- The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies welcomed the plan, while pro-Palestine groups and civil-liberties advocates say the targeted phrases can be political speech and signal protests and potential legal action.
- Queensland would be the first Australian state to explicitly outlaw the “from the river to the sea” slogan, with the government saying the measures answer calls for tougher action following December’s Bondi massacre.