Australia's peak Jewish body has urged the Coalition against a "wholesale rejection" of the federal government's proposed hate speech laws, after Opposition leader Sussan Ley labelled them "pretty unsalvageable".
The omnibus bill, to be debated in parliament next week, would introduce hate speech and racial vilification offences, give the federal government powers to prescribe hate groups, and lay the groundwork for a gun buyback scheme.
Ley said the "half-baked" bill has "clumsily" tried to address antisemitism and the rise of extremism, but ultimately, "the laws achieve neither of these things".
"The legislation does not address the real issues that gave rise to the Bondi attack," she told reporters on Thursday morning.
"It doesn't address Islamic extremism. It doesn't address [self-proclaimed Islamic State] influence. And it doesn't address the rise of antisemitism and the terrorist threat in Australia."
The suite of laws is a response to the Bondi terror attack last month, when two gunmen — who police allege were father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram — opened fire near a Hanukkah event, killing 15 people.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said in response to Ley that Australia needs legislative reform "even if it is less than ideal", and urged the Coalition not to reject the bill.
"Some of the Opposition's criticisms of the Bill are valid and repeat concerns which we ourselves have expressed about the Bill's shortcomings," he said in a statement.
"The ECAJ would urge the Coalition not to allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.
"By all means seek to amend the Bill to remove its shortcomings, but a wholesale rejection of the Bill would not at all be warranted."
Ley's reservations include a lack of consultation with the community, rushing of legislation, a lack of buy-in for the gun buyback scheme from states and territories, hate speech amendments that go too far.
She also criticised a proposed carve-out for preachers if directly quoting religious texts for the purposes of discussion or education.
Ley stopped short of confirming the Opposition won't vote for the legislation, stating they will continue to scrutinise it ahead of its introduction to parliament on Monday.
"But from what we have seen so far, it looks pretty unsalvageable. As it stands, the government's proposal is half-baked and Australians deserve far better," Ley said.
She said the Coalition would advance its "own measures", but did not specify whether that would be via a private member's bill or amendments to the proposed legislation.
Released within days of the attack, the Opposition has pushed for implementing special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal's recommendations in full, including tackling antisemitism across university campuses and the arts, as well as enshrining a definition of antisemitism in the law.
PM pushes back on hate speech law critics
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back at Opposition complaints that the legislation is being rushed, highlighting Ley's calls for reform in the days following the attack in Bondi.
"The Coalition, day after day, very clearly called for parliament to be recalled not on Monday, January 19, but during Christmas week," he told ABC Sydney radio on Thursday.
"Now they're saying that this is somehow rushed."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been left "stunned" by the Coalition's criticism of the expedited timeline for hate speech reform. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
This includes "engaging constructively" with Greens leader Larissa Waters and Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, whose electorate the attack occurred in.
— With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
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