A Muslim Labor MP has said the government’s new “hate speech” laws could soon be expanded to cover “islamophobia” and “homophobia”, after Jewish and homosexual advocacy groups complained they didn’t go far enough.
Egyptian-born Minister for Multiculturalism Anne Aly said on Tuesday the government was open to criminalising “other types of hate” once the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026 passes, which is expected to occur next week despite some Liberal and Nationals MPs vowing to oppose it.
Ms Aly’s comments came after Jewish peak body the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), homosexual lobby group Equality Australia, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), and far-left party The Greens said the new legislation should cover all types of “hate”, not just anti-Semitism and racism.
Senator Alex Antic says he will vote NO on the ‘Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism’ Bill, regardless of what the Coalition decides to do next week. pic.twitter.com/ondcU2UQLh
— Australians vs. The Agenda (@ausvstheagenda) January 13, 2026
“No one in Australia should be subjected to any type of hate,” Ms Aly told The Australian.
“Once the combating anti-Semitism, hate and extremism bill passes through parliament, the government is open to considering extending the protections to other forms of hate.”
ECAJ co-chief Executive Peter Wertheim, whose organisation called for the legislation and was involved in its design, objected to a religious exemption for direct quotes from a religious text, said the laws should cover all varieties of “hate speech” and that he hoped they would be “passed and strengthened”.
“The offence is limited to the promotion of hatred of others on the basis of their race. Promoting hatred on the basis of other inherent attributes such as gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability will not be proscribed,” he said.
“People who are targeted for hatred on the basis of these other attributes are equally entitled to protection.”
Mr Wertheim further complained that the “serious vilification offence” did not cover the “reckless” promotion of racial hatred, saying that “requiring proof of intention beyond reasonable doubt might be setting the bar too high”.
He added that the offence shouldn’t be based on a “reasonable member” of a targeted group being in fear for their safety, but should be determined “solely on the basis of the conduct of the offender”.
Equality Australia also said the bill “fails to adequately protect LGBTIQ+ people and other vulnerable communities”, and AFIC president Rateb Jneid said it was “simply not tenable for laws designed to combat hate to exclude religion”.
But the Nationals have indicated they will oppose the bill due to the gun reforms, and some Liberal MPs, including leadership contender Andrew Hastie, Alex Antic and Henry Pike, have spoken out against the “hate speech” components.
“I’m unlikely to support the bill given its likely impact on broad religious freedoms,” Mr Hastie said, while Mr Antic warned the laws were a “slippery slope” and said he would cross the floor to vote against them like he has on previous legislation than infringes on free speech.
Mr Pike warned the new laws punished the wrong people while letting Islamic extremists off the hook with the religious texts exemption.
“The proposed racial vilification offence risks protecting extremists and punishing those who challenge them. Radical Islamist hatred will shelter behind religious exemptions, while those of us who want to make a secular critique of extremist views, or cultural practices incompatible with Australian values, will have to run the risk of a criminal charge,” Mr Pike said.
“Feeling intimidated is enough to trigger a crime carrying up to five years in jail. A Chinese-Australian may feel intimidated by a social post condemning Beijing’s naval incursion. A Palestinian-Australian could cite intimidation over criticism of Labor’s dodgy visa vetting processes. This is 18C on steroids. Backed by handcuffs and a five-year prison sentence.”
#BREAKING: The National Socialist Network, White Australia, the European Australian Movement and the White Australia Party have all officially disbanded in response to the Australian government’s new “Prohibited Hate Groups” laws.
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— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) January 13, 2026
The new laws, drafted in response to the Bondi Islamic Terrorist attack, also allow the government to ban organisations who have engaged in or advocated for “hate crimes” as “Prohibited Hate Groups”, resulting in the National Socialist Network (NSN) announcing on Tuesday that it would disband.
Once an organisation is listed as a Prohibited Hate Group, it will be a criminal offence punishable by jail terms of up to 15 years to be a member, recruit for it, donate or receive funds or support that group.
A “hate crime” as defined in the legislation covers conduct that may have been legal at the time, and groups can be banned for praising conduct, even that which takes place overseas, if the Australian government decides that conduct meets the threshold of a “hate crime”, with no criminal convictions needed.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Monday that the laws, which were drafted in consultation with the Jewish community, were aimed at shutting down the NSN and Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which he said he had been previously unable to ban because they had not broken the law or incited violence.
Mr Wertheim said: “We also commend the Government for taking action to constrain hate groups, which seek to exploit the freedoms of our democratic society in order to undo them. However, the legislation still has some way to go in recognising how such groups currently operate.”
Header image: Ms Aly and Mr Albanese (Facebook).
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