Daily London
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has blasted opposition MPs who have indicated they won’t support the government’s hate speech and gun control law reforms, accusing the Coalition of “playing politics” in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Parliament will reconvene early next week to consider the proposed legislation, the draft of which was presented to MPs and senators on Monday.
The government has said the updates would allow for swifter crackdowns on the kind of speech which Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has characterised as heretofore antisocial but not illegal.
Among them is leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie, citing a perceived threat to “democratic freedoms”, including freedom of speech.
“There’s a lot to consider, and very little time in which to do so,” he said in a video posted to social media.
“From the top, I’ll be voting no to this bill.”
The Coalition has previously opposed the idea of stronger hate speech laws, though the party has yet to take a formal stance on the current draft bill.
Former Nationals member turned One Nation star recruit Barnaby Joyce is also opposed to the bill, though he specifically rejects the need for gun control reform rather than hate speech crackdowns.
“There was no recreational shooter that went down and mass murdered people at Bondi,” he told Today.
“But somehow we’ve got wrapped up this.”
Joyce said “fundamentalist Islam” was the issue that needed to be addressed, blaming immigration – though one of the alleged Bondi terrorists was Australian-born.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has also decried the gun control aspects of the bill, which would limit firearm ownership and establish a gun buyback scheme.
Albanese hit out at the Coalition this morning, accusing MPs of hypocrisy.
”This is somewhat stunning, frankly. The Coalition, day after day, very clearly called for parliament to be recalled,” he told ABC Radio Sydney.
“Now they’re saying this is somehow rushed, even though my government has moved in a considered, orderly way.”
Albanese said he had met with opposition leader Sussan Ley regularly in the lead-up to recalling parliament, and that the government was very open to considering amendments.
”We’ve said we’re open to amendments in order to be sure to get this right,” he said.
“We haven’t heard any proposed amendments.”
He urged MPs with concerns or proposed changes to “pick up the phone” and “engage constructively”.
”I’ll just say to the Coalition, this should be a moment of national unity, and I say that to the crossbenchers and Greens as well,” he said.
Should the Coalition broadly oppose the bill in parliament, the government could need to reach an agreement with the Greens, to push the legislation through the Senate.
The other option would be making alterations to reach a stage where the Coalition could support both the hate speech and gun control laws.
9news.com.au has contacted the prime minister’s office and attorney-general’s office for comment.
