The federal Parliament is set to return next week amid heated debate over Labor’s proposed Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, introduced in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack last December. While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the legislation is vital to national security and unity, critics argue it is rushed, poorly drafted, and risks undermining free speech.
The legislation, which aims to create new federal offences for promoting racial hatred, increase penalties for hate crimes, and target radicalising preachers, has sparked backlash from multiple quarters, including the Coalition, One Nation, and Jewish and Muslim community groups.
Coalition leader Sussan Ley MP told reporters, “The Coalition has serious concerns about Labor’s clumsy effort to stamp out antisemitism. As drafted, it fails two basic tests: does it eradicate antisemitism, and does it crack down on radical Islamic extremism? Right now, it fails both.” Ley highlighted that the 500-page draft does not mention the term “radical Islam” even once.
“If the Prime Minister cannot name the problem, he cannot tackle it.”
Ley criticised the parliamentary inquiry process, noting that officials could not clarify whether phrases such as “globalise the intifada” or “from the river to the sea” would fall under the law, or how extremist fatwas would be treated. “The Parliament can and should criminalise antisemitic extremist hate preaching without impinging on free speech. But if the government cannot explain how its own legislation will work, Parliament cannot be expected to vote for it, and the community will have no confidence in it,” she said.
One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson urged the Prime Minister to call off the early recall of Parliament. “Anthony Albanese needs to cancel the early sitting because his badly flawed hate Bill is now dead in the water,” Hanson said, describing the legislation as “unnecessary, potentially dangerous, ineffective and divisive.”
“This legislation has all the hallmarks of Albanese’s typical incompetence: unnecessary, potentially dangerous, ineffective and divisive. It’s been exposed. The Prime Minister has been exposed. The only thing he can do now is to cancel this early sitting.”
Senator Hanson accused the government of failing to address rising antisemitism and radical Islamist hate, while ignoring recommendations from its own antisemitism envoy.
The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) echoed these criticisms, warning that the bill is being rushed without proper consultation. CEO Robert Gregory said the legislation could criminalise the very communities it is intended to protect and pointed to gaps in addressing radical Islamic extremism, the ideology behind the Bondi attack.
“These laws risk regulating subjective opinions and rely on vague concepts such as ‘intimidation’. Australians, both Jewish and non-Jewish, must be given the opportunity to have their voices heard. I urge all Members of Parliament to reject this bill,” Gregory said.
“Any government that proposes to criminalise speech must act in a sober, cautious, and bipartisan manner.”
At the same time, Muslim leaders have also raised concerns over selective consultation and the potential for Islamophobia.
Albanese’s bill seeks to create a new federal hate speech offence, making it illegal to publicly promote or incite racial hatred where it could intimidate, harass, or make a reasonable person fear violence. The law would also establish offences for radicalising children, expand bans on prohibited symbols, allow the Home Affairs Minister to cancel visas for people spreading hatred, and create a framework to list “Prohibited Hate Groups.”
It is reported that the bill also includes a narrow defence for quoting religious texts in teaching or discussion, a provision that has been criticised by both Jewish leaders and Coalition figures for potentially offering a loophole for extremist preachers.
Parliament will sit on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 January. The bill will be debated in the House before being transmitted to the Senate, with a snap parliamentary inquiry expected to deliver its report on Friday. The Coalition has indicated it will likely oppose the legislation, meaning Labor would need to secure support from the Greens to pass the bill.
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