On January 21, 2026 the Australian Parliament, under the leadership of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), unanimously passed some of the most ruthless federal hate speech laws in the country’s history. Rushed through after the horrifying Bondi terrorist attack, the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act allegedly targets hate groups. But under its inclusionary rhetoric lies a crackdown on civil liberties, particularly aimed at the Palestinian solidarity movement.
How did we get here? The path to these “hate speech” laws began well before Bondi. On the 9th of July 2024, the Labor Albanese government announced the appointment of Jillian Segal, a business executive and hardcore Zionist, as Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism (ASECA). Segal presented a series of recommendations, which include adopting “a clear definition of antisemitism that aligns closely with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.” This definition had already been roundly refuted by scholars around the world for blurring the line between genuine antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel. Its use gives governments greater licence to suppress mounting opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza, its ongoing occupation, and its system of apartheid, which constitute a crime against humanity.
Australia’s new laws grant the government sweeping powers to ban or restrict organisations if their actions “could cause a reasonable person … to feel intimidated, fear harassment or violence, or fear for their safety.” They set prison sentences of up to 15 years, not only for members of such designated “hate” groups, but also for those associated with them. Migrants linked to these groups could face deportation or be denied visas based on a suspicion that they “might” commit an offence. The legislation also criminalises political communication deemed as “violent extremist material.” Even more sinister, these identified organisations will have no right to challenge or appeal their designation before it takes effect, as the law explicitly exempts the Home Affairs Minister and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) from standard procedural fairness requirements.
Amnesty International (AI) warns that the vague, open-ended language gives the government the authority to erode rights to freedom of expression and assembly. It says the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism sabotages the legitimate fight against antisemitism. These laws, says AI, “undermine fundamental civil and political rights, stifle protest, and risk deepening community divisions.”
The laws aim to achieve what Segal and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have sought to do since December 2025: weaponise the terrible attack at Bondi Beach to demonise those who want an end to the genocide in Gaza and to achieve lasting peace in the region. The Queensland government plans to ban “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Globalise the Intifada” as hate speech — the first state government to do so. The New South Wales Premier can declare “a major event,” such as Israeli President Herzog’s recent visit, to then hand special powers to police to brutalise protesters — as we witnessed in Sydney on February 9 (See editorial, Herzog’s visit escalates support for the Palestine solidarity movement.)
Across the country the right to protest is being erroded with governments, both state and federal, demonising the Palestine solidarity movement. Hate speech laws are part of this attack. But dissenters are fighting back in the courts and on the streets. Photo by Sumitra Vignaendra.
Can’t kill solidarity. Over two-and-a-half years, the Palestinians’ unstoppable resistance has galvanised global unity across all sectors of the working class. The movement’s strength lies in both its resilience and the massive scale of its actions. At least 300,000 people marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge on 3 August 2025 to protest Israel’s starvation and massacre of Palestinians – possibly the biggest mass demonstration in the city’s history. Recently in Melbourne, tens of thousands protested Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to the country, blocking off the major intersection at Flinders Street Station. These actions, among many more, were the solidarity movement’s answer to governments’ heavy-handed efforts to crush dissent in the country’s two largest capital cities.
Responding to the ASECA recommendations, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe stated that First People’s sovereignty is irrepressible. The conflation between Judaism and Zionism, she said, “wrongly suggests that any criticism of Israel and Zionism — and by extension, recognition of Palestinian self-determination and sovereignty — is inherently antisemitic. Legitimate, legally protected expressions of support for the Palestinian right to self-determination must be identified and safeguarded.” As a First Nations woman in this settler state, Thorpe demonstrates that no amount of state repression can stop this liberation struggle.
The core message of Palestinian spokespeople is that their liberation is for everyone. The movement links the struggles of First Peoples of Palestine, this continent and the world. Its identity with liberation in all forms and on all fronts is unmistakable in the masses of Jews, women, trans people, queers, unionists and immigrants who turn out.
The powers-that-be understand this, too. These “hate laws” aren’t aimed only at the Palestinian movement. They are a precedent for cracking down on all resistance as it grows. As a unifying force, the Palestinian movement points the way toward building an invincible front that could bring this inhuman system down.
