Anti-Vilification
4th March 2025
I rise today in support of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Bill 2024.
This is an important Bill.
And one in which I feel is particularly pressing in our current climate.
Hate has no place in our community.
Not only does it undermine social cohesion but also the benefits that diversity and multiculturalism bring to our community.
The purpose of the Bill before us is to strengthen and expand anti-vilification laws to better protect individuals and our communities from vilification.
And promote the rights of all Victorians to participate equally in a democratic and inclusive society.
Currently in Victoria, only hate speech and conduct that meets the legal definition of vilification is against the law.
But vilification is not just ‘hate speech.’
It is much more than that.
Vilification is an act that encourages hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule towards a person or group of people.
It can include threats of physical violence.
The Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 protects people in Victoria from vilification that arises due to their race or religion.
Some examples of this include:
Posting a racist comment online that could make other people hate someone because of their race.
Instances where saying something at a public meeting that could encourage contempt of people because of their race or religion.
Writing graffiti that encourages hatred of people because of their race or religion.
This was, and largely still is, a comprehensive and clear law which covers a wide range of circumstances which rightly should be outlawed.
However, the fact is, President, this law, however comprehensive, is nearly a quarter of a century old.
The world has changed a lot since then.
Social media and other forms of mass communication have come a long way since then, which has integrated our world more than ever.
But with that comes a whole new challenge.
It is easier than ever for vilification and hate to spread online, and more of our most vulnerable Victorians are exposed to hate.
People who are vilified for other reasons are not yet being protected by our current anti-vilification laws need to be protected too.
The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-vilification Protections (Inquiry) in 2021 examined the operation and effectiveness of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.
The Inquiry found that many Victorians commonly experience the harmful effects of vilification, whether that be online or in person.
This is including First Nations, Muslim and Jewish people, women, LGBTIQA+ communities and people with disability.
The 2023 Victorian Antisemitism report – which examines the occurrence, themes, and trends in antisemitism in Victoria from that same year – found that Victoria’s Jewish community was subject to a dramatic and unprecedented increase in vilification, hatred, and racism.
364 antisemitic incidents were reported in Victoria in 2023, the highest number ever recorded in a single calendar year.
A 2024 research report on racism in Victoria led by Victoria University Professors found 76% of survey respondents had experienced racism in Australia (or someone in their care), with two-thirds of them having experienced racism also in the past 12 months.
The 2023 Fueling Hate report by the Trans Justice Project and Victorian Pride Lobby, reported anti-trans hate is escalating in Australia with 49 per cent of trans participants surveyed reporting having experienced online anti-trans abuse, harassment or vilification and 47 per cent having experienced that behaviour in person.
This shows that despite current legislation and protections in the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, prejudice and hate still happens in Victoria.
These statistics are just too high.
Nobody should be a victim to or experience vilification in this state.
So, with that in mind, it becomes clear that our laws surrounding anti vilification need to be updated and updated.
Clearly, as the world has changed in the past quarter century, the tactics by which extremists spread their hateful ideology has also changed.
This is why the Allan Labor Government is now moving forward with changes to better protect our community from hate and to modernise our anti-vilification laws.
President, the Inquiry I mentioned recommended extending anti-vilification laws to protect more Victorians and strengthening how the laws operate.
Already, this government has implemented the first of the Inquiry’s recommendations.
By banning the nazi symbol - the Hakenkreuz - in 2022.
And further, the ban of the Nazi salute and other symbols and gestures used by the Nazi Party in 2023.
These laws are already being put to use, cracking down on white supremacist rallies and neo-Nazis in Victoria.
But more must be done.
And that is what this Bill seeks to achieve.
The reforms contained in the Bill have been informed by extensive community and stakeholder consultation over several years.
The proposed new laws have been carefully crafted to balance the rights to freedom of expression, equality and freedom of religion and belief.
An outline of the proposed changes is as follows.
First off, the Bill will be bringing into effective 15 more of the Inquiry’s recommendations.
This will be done by way of strengthening Victoria’s anti-vilification laws by Improving the operation of the laws in place.
Improving the operation of these laws will go a long way in responding appropriately and effectively to the most serious cases of vilification in Victoria.
These are all part of a balanced suite of measures to address conduct of increasing seriousness with regards to vilification and hatred in Victoria.
Together, these measures will further clamp down on extremist neo-Nazi activity and Victoria and stamp out hate wherever we can find it.
It modernises our approach to anti-vilification, so that it is fit for the 2020s and going forward.
Such reforms are just one part of the Allan Labor government's wider initiatives to address and prevent vilification, hate crimes and violence.
Because prevention is just as important as changing the law.
We need to start at the root cause.
We need to look at why people, ordinary people, can become so hateful as to revel in the vilification of minorities and vulnerable communities.
And that is why this government is also working on complementary prevention-based strategies and initiatives to reduce and eliminate vilification.
In layman’s terms, which is to basically find the root cause of these movements and events and find out what we can do to help prevent them from happening again.
These include initiatives to better understand and tackle vilification, such as community and school-based awareness and education programs and improved support networks for those who are impacted by hate.
As I said, extensive public and stakeholder consultation has benefitted the development of this Bill.
In addition to the consultation conducted by the Inquiry, the government also held three submissions processes supported by consultation papers and surveys on Engage Victoria and consultation with key stakeholders.
Victorians had the opportunity to provide their views on extending the attributes protected by anti-vilification laws, expanding criminal offences and strengthening the operation of civil protections.
Engage Victoria published the findings of this consultation process in May 2024.
Further, in September 2024 the government published an overview paper detailing proposed changes to the law and provided yet another opportunity for Victorians to have their say on the proposed reforms.
Consultations with human rights, justice, legal, multicultural, advocacy and faith-based groups has also been carried out.
This amendment, and the laws surrounding anti-vilification are fundamental to shaping a more inclusive, tolerant, and cohesive society.
That is why, as you can see, no stone has been left unturned.
And I would like to thank the Victorian community and stakeholders for their input into these reforms over a number of years.
Social cohesion is fundamental to a tolerant democratic society, and it’s our job as representatives to work to sow communities closer together, rather than divide them.
It requires a complex, ever-changing dynamic approach to the challenges facing Victoria at any given day.
We cannot have a tolerant and cohesive Victoria, if we don’t act to stamp out intolerance now.
I want to also thank those with lived experience of vilification, and their advocates, for engaging in the reform process and helping to contribute to better laws for all.
I know the road has not been easy, but it is one we are willing to take to ensure better outcomes for all.
The feedback collected over these years of consultation have cited strong support for changes that would reduce the harm caused by vilification, protect more people, reflect the seriousness of hateful conduct, and ensure those who experience vilification could easily seek help.
Of course, it is not always possible to adopt or reconcile all views –
It is evident that Victorians have diverse opinions about these reforms.
However, the advice and feedback has been carefully considered and balanced in developing this, Bill.
And, it is the intention of this government to enact laws for the people of Victoria that respects the inherent dignity of all and promotes equal participation in public life.
Because the Allan Labor Government cares about our Victorian communities.
That is what we have proven time and time again.
And that is what this Bill will do.
This Bill is another example of the Allan Labor government putting Victorians first.
And ensuring all Victorians, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or preference and abilities are welcome, safe and respected.
Everyone can contribute to our great state equally, and it’s crucial that we continue to build this state to be more welcoming, tolerant, and prosperous.
President, the important protections under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act will be retained and further strengthened by improving how the law operates.
Individuals and groups will continue to be protected from vilification based on their race - including their ancestry, nationality, ethnicity or ethnic origin.
Those being the existing provisions which prevent the prejudicial discrimination and attacks against minority and vulnerable communities.
But we’re now taking this further.
They will continue to be protected from vilification based on their religion, which includes their lawful religious beliefs, views and religious activities.
This also includes those with a personal association with a person with a protected attribute.
Importantly, the Bill introduces new serious vilification offences that will apply to the expanded protected attributes and will make it easier to prosecute serious examples of hateful conduct.
It will be an offence, on the ground of a protected attribute, to incite hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion towards a person or a group.
And as I mentioned previously, vilification can include threads of violence, which is why a threat of physical harm towards another person or group or threaten to damage property falls under this scope.
At present, it is not an offence to incite hatred unless a threat is also made.
The Bill modifies this to prohibit public conduct that is ‘likely to’ incite hatred, or serious contempt and revulsion for a protected group based on a protected attribute.
Amending the protection to capture conduct that is ‘likely to incite’ reflects how the courts already interpret this protection and provides further clarity in the legislation.
But what it does do is provide the broader and apt scope to tackle these cases of vilification as to leave no room for doubt and ensure bad actors cannot try worm their way around.
This Bill will ensure that intentional and reckless hatred or threat is sufficient for criminal sanctions.
As such, the Bill will increase the maximum penalties from 6-months and a fine, to a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment for the incitement offence and 5 years imprisonment for the threat offence.
This reflects the seriousness of vilification.
A range of sentencing options that fall below the maximum would also be available for appropriate cases, including fines, community-based orders and restorative justice options.
But this amendment allows for enough flexibility to oversee and address the severity, intent, and impact of the criminal behaviour.
It should spell out, clear as day, that Victoria has a zero-tolerance policy on bigotry, hatred, and vilification.
You cannot get away with attacking our most vulnerable Victorians and get off with a slap on the wrist.
It is a serious criminal offence, and these amendments ensure that Victoria will take the necessary measures to keep this behaviour off our streets and out of the community.
Crucially, and in line with recommendation 9 of the Inquiry, the Bill introduces a new civil harm-based protection which ensures that the harm caused by vilifying conduct is considered from the perspective of the targeted person or group.
This means that public conduct that would, in all the circumstances, be reasonably likely to be considered by a reasonable person with the relevant attribute to be hateful, seriously contemptuous, reviling or severely ridiculing of the other person or group – will be considered unlawful.
By incorporating provisions that consider the targeted group and broader society, this bill accounts for social, cultural, historical and other relevant factors that define behaviour as vilification.
A person will be able to bring a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) or the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for a breach of the harm-based protection if the person has the relevant protected attribute and were part of the audience of the conduct.
This ensures that only people directly affected or targeted by the conduct, and not third parties, can bring a complaint.
The Bill will also enable a representative body, such as a religious or community organisations, to bring a vilification complaint to VEOHRC without naming the person they are representing.
Currently, a representative body can only bring a vilification complaint to VEOHRC on behalf of named people.
This may deter some people from making a complaint because they are concerned about negative consequences for themselves or their broader community.
Enabling organisations to do this will therefore also enable them to support their communities through these difficult processes.
Publicising the name of someone who has been vilified or been the victim of an attack, can very understandably be a frightening experience, and can cause severe distress and concern for wellbeing.
That is why we are pushing ahead with this change, so that community leaders in Victoria can voice their concerns without fear of harming anyone in their own community.
They can escalate matters and address the ground issues without putting people in harms away.
This can also encourage mores cases to be brought forward, and concerns raised which may previously not been expressed due to the concerns I mentioned a moment ago.
That is why I’m very happy to see this change, as part of the Allan Labor Government’s reforms to the anti-vilification laws, smoothing the process for raising concerns so that we can better strike at the root cause of these issues.
Before I wrap up, I want to bring attention to a particular change as part of these reforms which addresses the concerns around extra-territorial offences.
Australia is a federation, a collection of six states and two territories, all with different laws and precedents.
While we work together as a nation to bring these laws as in-sync as possible, it is not always achievable.
But this amendment makes a notable amendment to address instances where a person or group may engage in an offence outside Victoria against a group in Victoria, and vice versa.
Let me be clear.
Serious vilification that occurs in Victoria will not be tolerated – no matter where it takes place.
That means that if a criminal attempts to attack someone based on their background, whether it be race, ethnicity, orientation, gender, and so forth, but the victim resides in Sydney for example, that person would still be subjected to a proportional punishment, even though the victims are not in Victoria itself.
And for that, President, these individuals will be subject to the full extent of the law.
The Allan Labor Government is determined to combat this.
This bill includes comprehensive changes to ensure a modernised approach to anti-vilification that builds from the Inquiry moved by this government and clarifies necessary existing provisions to make the laws better suited for a modern Victoria.
Victorians should be extremely proud of the progress this state has made over the years in regard to these laws, and community groups, religious leaders, and vulnerable communities can also rest assured that the Allan Labor Government will always fight for them and continue to build on that legacy.
We will always fight for a more tolerant, safer, and progressive Victoria where everyone is welcome and can feel safe, and that starts by pushing forward with these recommended reforms.
And for that, President, I commend this bill.