Support for the federal government’s sweeping hate speech reforms has collapsed with the Greens revealing they will not back the proposed changes.
Ahead of an extraordinary parliamentary sitting week to discuss the proposal, the Greens said they could not pass the government’s omnibus bill given the “significant amount of reworking required to meet community concerns”.
However, the minor party says it will pass the proposed gun law reforms put forward in the package.
“The Greens are willing to work with the government to pass gun laws next week but the rest of the omnibus bill needs a huge amount of work,” party leader Larissa Waters said on Saturday.
“With every hour that passes, more concerns are raised by legal experts, faith groups and the community about the Omnibus bill.
“This is complex legislation, with a lot of massive pitfalls and omissions, and the process to fix it can’t be rushed.”
On Friday, the Albanese government made a last ditch bid for bipartisan support for the hate speech and gun reform bill after failing to win backing from the coalition.
“The prime minister has made clear: we are open to amendments, we would like to see national unity, we would like to see the coalition and the Greens act responsibly,” Senator Wong said.
Proposed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, the reforms include measures such as cracking down on hate preachers, introducing hate speech and racial vilification offences and creating a national gun buyback scheme.
But legal experts, Jewish groups and influential religious leaders have criticised the bill as too rushed and broad, with the coalition also confirming it would not support it.
“We are willing to sit down with the government to find a way forward but it’s clear the amount of negotiations and legal analysis required to produce a good outcome can’t be done in the extremely tight time-frame the government has created,” Senator Waters said.
“It may be simpler to start afresh with a bill that aims to protect everyone from hatred and discrimination.”
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