Australia's Jewish community has rejected plans by Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government to loosen laws punishing hate speech and racial discrimination. Under the federal government's proposed changes, the new Racial Discrimination Act will no longer make it illegal to "offend, insult or humiliate" an Australian because of their race or ethnicity. However, the law will not allow anyone to be intimidated based on race.
Jewish leaders believe the new legislation would bring complications in the litigation against anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.
The government has announced a draft of its proposed legislation late March. Abbott said his government was trying to maintain the "red light" on inciting racial hate but Australia would remove the "amber light on free speech."
Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Robert Goot, who is also a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, said that the bill was"deeply flawed" and disregarded "key protections" for ethnic groups in the country. Goot added that the new legislation would encourage racial hate speech in Australia.
In Paris, the World Jewish Congress Executive Committee adopted a resolution which called on the government of Australia “not to repeal or reduce the impact of those sections of the Racial Discrimination Act that have for over 20 years, protected the Jewish and other religious and ethnic communities from hate speech, including Holocaust denial.”
Josh Frydenberg, the only Jewish lawmaker in the governing coalition, said he believed that the proposed changes would protect freedom of speech while ensuring that those who defame or malign a person because of his race will be punished.