Influential religious leaders have urged the prime minister to halt sweeping hate speech reforms, warning the laws could have unintended consequences.
In a co-signed statement issued Friday, Muslim and Christian leaders said efforts to crack down on anti-Semitic Islamist hate preachers could threaten reasonable religious discourse unless something is done.
“A hasty legislative process of this nature undermines trust and increases the risk of unintended consequences,” the letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and senior ministers said.
Among the 27 leaders who signed the letter are Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffe and Shadi Alsuleiman, president of the Australian National Imams Council.
The group said it is willing to work with Labor to “improve” the bill by removing an exemption for religious leaders who quote a religious text.
“The provisions allow past lawful speech or expression to be considered hate crimes, which could expose individuals or institutions to consequences based on past lawful speech or expression,” the report said.
Labor has made a last-ditch effort to gain bipartisan support for the hate speech and gun reform bill after failing to gain support from the Coalition and the Greens.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong used Sussan Ley’s own words to hit back after the Opposition Leader called the bill “irredeemable”.
“The Prime Minister has made it clear: we are open to amendments, we would like to see national unity, we would like to see the Coalition and the Greens act responsibly,” Wong said in Adelaide.
“What is becoming increasingly clear is that Ley’s leadership is irredeemable.”
Ley took aim at Wong in the days after the Bondi terror attack, claiming the Foreign Secretary had “not shed a single tear”.
The opposition had for weeks demanded that Labor Parliament be recalled before Christmas to adopt a report by Australia’s anti-anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal, which included anti-defamation laws.
The Prime Minister on Friday challenged the opposition to propose changes to hate speech legislation.
“Right now this is like trying to grab smoke, trying to reach a settlement with the coalition,” Albanese said.
“Our strong view is that legislation dealing with hate, defamation and anti-discrimination cannot just exclude one religion and simply protect it,” Greens Senator David Shoebridge told Sky News.
Bipartisan support is needed for the legislation to pass the Senate.
A group of independent MPs – including Allegra Spender, whose electorate includes Bondi Beach – urged Parliament to negotiate “in good faith” across party lines to pass the laws.
The Nationals have indicated on behalf of the farmers that they oppose gun reform.
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