6th Dec 2023, 12:58 PM – Senate Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill 2023 - Second Reading - Concerns

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). This amendment was introduced by the Australian Greens.

Motion text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) is of the opinion that while criminalising the use of Nazi symbols and salutes is a valid and appropriate public policy outcome, certain other provisions of the bill that go beyond this potentially criminalise speech and conduct in a manner that risks exacerbating over policing of marginalised communities, such as Muslim and Arab communities, including by the potential for aggressive policing of conduct that is in fact not criminalised by this bill; and

(b) notes that these concerns have been raised by stakeholders but have not been addressed".