Murray Olds: Australia Correspondent on the new hate speech laws hitting political opposition

Australia’s new hate speech laws have hit a speedbump.  

Parliament was recalled early to pass reform that would create serious offences for hate in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.  

However, the Opposition and the Greens are refusing to accept the laws in their current form.  

Australia Correspondent Murray Olds told Andrew Dickens the Opposition is saying the timeline is ridiculous, and that the bill is unsalvageable in its current form. 

He says everyone was in favour of fighting antisemitism as hard as they could, but it's now dissolved into a political bunfight.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talks dB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Murray Old's good morning to you, Good buddy, Good morning
to you.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Hey.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
These new hate speech laws are running into a bit
of trouble.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
No kidding. We're supposed to be all fighting anti Semitism, right,
but as it has been happening for a long time
over here, politics shoves its nose in. This is all
about splitting down, fracturing along political lines. Labor has got
this omnibus bill, wants to get new hate speech laws
and gun laws through parliament. In fact, the Prime Minister's recall.

(00:48):
Parliament SIT's on Monday, two weeks early. But as you say,
has run into problems political opposition. The Liberal and National
Parties which which represent the official opposition over here, the Coalition,
they are going to reject it, so to the Greens.
Now in the lower House, of course, Albanese has got
the biggest majority ever because history. He's got ninety four

(01:09):
seats in the lower House. The Coalition together has only
got forty three. But it's when you get to the Senate,
which is the House of Review, of course, that's where
Labor does not have the numbers seasonally in the opposition
say we want more time. You know that this is
the same Bob. He's been howling and squealing. It was
in a dreadful atrocity at bomb Died Beach last month.
We call parliament fast new laws. Now they're saying, oh oh,

(01:31):
hang on a second, it's a bit fast for us.
The National Party essentially the Country Party over here. But
they hate the fact that farmers will be limited to
ten guns and don't know how many bloody guns they need.
The Greens want broader laws to capture Islamophobia and homophobia.
They want those outlawed as well. The opposition says the

(01:53):
timeline is ridiculous, the bills unsalvageable. Doesn't like the failure
to single out things like Islamic terrorism. The opposition wants
that name specifically in the legislation. The exemption too for
quoting from religious texts, apparently to do that under the
Labor legislation. But I mean one of the you know,

(02:14):
the organization with most skin in the game here is
the Executive Council of Australian Jury. It's regarded as perhaps
the most important Jewish organization in Australia. That Council is saying,
for goodness sake, do not perfectly the enemy of the good.
Get this down bill through, get it passed, Seek amendments
by all means, but get the thing through. Do not

(02:34):
let the wholesale rejection of this bill would be a
very bad step according to the Executive Council of Australian Jury.
So again, you know, everybody was violently strongly in favor
of fighting antisemitism as hard as we can go. Now
of course it's just dissolved again into a vertical bunfight.
It's crediful.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well, it's always a quotemile. But good luck with all
of that. Now, there were floods in Queensland, but the
Emergency Minister from Queensland wasn't there because that person was
on holiday.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right. This minister is name is Amanda Camp.
She's also Minister of Charge of Recovery. She may be
recovering in Africa is where she's recovering. The state deals
with this huge flood crisis. But the Queensland Emergency Recovery
Minister is on holidays in Africa with her partner, who

(03:27):
happens to be the sports minister. He's running a joint.
All I am, says the Premier, David Christoph Foley. He
steps up in front of Telly, waves his arms around
and says, oh, you know, everything's fine. We're okay. As
the state grounds, he says, it's fine form Cam to
be away in Africa while the you know, this dreadful
storm is smashing the trube down of Queensland. She's in

(03:49):
Africa but posting weather updates on her social media pages
for goodness sake.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
On the boss, lots of sun, lovely lions. Hope you're
find at home all the very.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
God I mean, please goodness. Maybe hadn't any brains you'll
be on the first plane home, wouldn't you've got? But anyway,
it does it pass the pub test. We're not sure.
We'll have to wait until misscamp finally gets back.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Meanwhile, very quickly, it stinks at Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
Yeah, her name is Smelanie. I love that Smelanie, and
she set to bloom this weekend. There's about five of
these plants that are actually called the corpse flower. There
are five of them in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Smelanie
is first cave up the rank. It smells like a
rotting animal carcass happy guess who's going along about ten
thousand people and are going to line up and guard

(04:39):
that a snip wouldn't catch me there, I'm afraid anything.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Well, I can tell you that, in fact, the corpse
flowers just flowered in christ Church, so it stinks in
christ Church as well. And I thank you Murray Olds,
you've been brilliant over the summer. Breakfast and go well.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
For more from News Talks d B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio