New South Wales will not revoke new hate speech and antisemitism laws in the wake of revelations that the recent wave of arson and vandalism attacks against Jewish targets was in large part a con by an organized crime group, NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a Thursday press statement.
The February 21 bills were passed to create tougher legal tools in response to the antisemitic incidents, but critics called for an inquiry exploring if the premier misled the state parliament because, according to NSW police, the Dural caravan faux terrorism plot and 14 other incidents were part of a plot to distract law enforcement and obtain reduced prison sentences in exchange for aiding in the investigation.
Minns responded to the criticism by asserting that the state had seen hundreds of antisemitic incidents, and the criminal plots still “caused our Jewish community to live in fear in their own state.”
“[The attacks] targeted the Jewish community. It targeted a racial group to instill terror in our state,” said Minns. “While these laws were drafted in response to horrifying antisemitism, we have always made clear they would apply to anyone, preying on any person, at any time. In response to calls for the laws to be scrapped, doing so would be a toxic message to our community that this kind of hate speech is acceptable when it’s not. These laws are very important to maintaining social cohesion.”
Australia's rise in antisemitism
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies welcomed Minns’s statement, asserting that the criminal plot was only conceived of and succeeded because it exploited already unprecedented levels of antisemitism in Sydney.
“The rise in antisemitism included numerous examples of heinous hate speech – including on the streets of Sydney – where Jews were depicted as being less than human or representing the most evil traits of humanity. Such hate speech included calls for the massacre of Jews, venerated violence or sought to justify violence against Jews and outlined why Jews are uniquely malign and dangerous,” the Board said in a Thursday statement. “The laws introduced by the NSW government were intended to address precisely such examples of hate speech.”
The Board argued that the laws protected society at large, not just Australian Jews, and there have always been limits on free speech when it comes to remarks that serve as a precursor to violence.
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties called for a NSW Legislative Council inquiry into the reforms, arguing that the environment of fear was weaponized to push restrictive speech and protest laws.
“The Minns Labor Government has played right into the hands of those who concocted the caravan plot in using it to drive a repressive and fear-based legislative agenda that has further divided the community,” NSWCCL President Timothy Roberts said in a Thursday statement. “NSWCCL is deeply concerned by reports that the Premier was aware the plot was a fabrication, not a real threat to lives, when citing it as a potential ‘mass casualty’ event which justified pushing through repressive laws that have eroded our democratic freedoms. The Premier used highly politicized language such as ‘terrorism’ that knowingly strikes fear in the hearts of our community, especially the Jewish community. This fear was used as a basis for taking away essential democratic rights to protest.”
Roberts said that Minns had to disclose when he knew about the criminal plot. The NSWCCL also noted that the laws were past at an unusual pace, and deepened societal divisions.
“The Premier clearly has been irresponsible in pushing for legislative change so quickly and not letting the Police do their job,” said Roberts.
The Places of Worship bill criminalized blocking a person from accessing or leaving a place of worship, and to harass a person accessing a house of worship, with a fine of up to $22,000 and/or two years’ imprisonment.
The Inciting Racial Hatred made it a crime to intentionally and publicly incite hatred of a person or group on the grounds of race, with some religious exemptions. Perpetrators would also face a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and/or $11,000 for individuals, and $55,000 for corporations.
The Racial and Religious Hatred also increased sentencing for those displaying Nazi symbols near Jewish sites.
NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said at the time that, “When we drafted these laws, we were mindful of preserving protest rights and freedom of political expression while also ensuring adequate community protection.”
Last Monday, the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police Force revealed that organized domestic and foreign criminal elements were hiring petty criminals to target the Sydney area Jewish community. With the crimes and false terrorism tips, the criminals had hoped to divert law enforcement resources so that they could carry out other actions. The mastermind behind the scheme hoped to provide information about fake plots in return for reduced sentences and other benefits.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation identified the chief mastermind as drug smuggler Sayet Erhan Akca on Friday, with The Australian alleging that they had discovered an extensive history of antisemitic comments by the criminal on social media. According to the ABC, Akca is believed to have fled abroad while on bail and did not attend a September court hearing for drug smuggling.
