Jewish leaders have warned Labor and the Coalition their community remains at risk from the promotion of antisemitic hatred, urging a last-minute compromise to secure tough new hate speech laws ahead of a special sitting of parliament.
After Anthony Albanese agreed to split draft laws made in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, new gun control measures, immigration powers and a scheme to designate extremist organisations are set to pass with the support of the Greens.
But the most controversial elements on vilification and intimidation were on pause, because of strong opposition from the left and right of politics.
As both major parties continued to blame the other for a rushed process, the Executive Council of Australia Jewry’s co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, implored the prime minister and the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, to thrash out a deal on new protections immediately.
“We are disappointed there will not be a serious vilification offence and very concerned at the message this will send that deliberate promotion of racial hatred is not considered serious enough to be criminalised,” he said on Sunday.
“How much worse do things need to get before we as a nation finally have the courage to tackle the deliberate promotion of antisemitic hatred that is the heart of the problem?”
Ley met with the Coalition leadership group on Saturday and was preparing to chair a meeting of shadow cabinet on Sunday night.
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, said Coalition MPs would consider which measures they might be able to support through amendments.
“The fact is the government have completely stuffed this up,” he said on Sunday.
“What we’re doing now should have happened weeks ago, where they could have worked with all parties, all communities – the Jewish community, the Muslim community, the firearms representatives – to get this right, along with other parties within the parliament.
“That’s where they failed, and that’s why we’re going through this 11th-hour process.”
The gun laws would establish the biggest buyback since the Port Arthur massacre, toughen rules and penalties around gun importations, and create new criminal offences for online material related to the manufacture of firearms and explosives.
Intelligence agencies including Asio would also be required to conduct criminal background checks when individuals apply for a firearms licence.
The government would also get powers to ban groups, including neo-Nazi organisations and Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, as well as to revoke or refuse visas for people with extremist views seeking to come to Australia.
Labor’s Senate manager – the finance minister, Katy Gallagher – challenged Ley to live up to her offer of support made in the hours after 15 people were killed at a Jewish Hanukah event on 14 December.
“This is a day where she needs to unite her party and put Australians first,” Gallagher said on Sunday.
“Australians want to see unity. They want to see agreement. They want to see the parliament working together, and that’s the approach we’re taking to the sitting.”
But the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (Afic) said the pause on the hate speech provisions was necessary, slamming the rushed process after Albanese released the draft bills last week.
Afic’s president, Rateb Jneid, warned the proposed rules around designation of hate organisations were dangerous and called for the legislation to be redrafted.
“When power to outlaw organisations rests on secret evidence and political discretion, it stops being about the law and becomes ideology and politics with the force of the state behind it,” Jneid said.
“This is not how a democratic country should define or punish hate.”
Parliament will hear condolence motions for the victims of the IS-inspired attack on Monday, before two bills are considered by MPs on Tuesday.
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