Fines or Up to 2 Years Jail for Publicly Inciting Racial Hatred
Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
criminal penalties hate speech human rights public safety racial discrimination racial hatred religious freedom
Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Damien Tudehope LIB
“I am not sure where to start with the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. Fundamentally, part of me is very troubled about the introduction of a bill of this nature into the Parliament. At the end of the day, many members on my side of the House will vote for the bill but with serious reservations about the nature of the legislation.”
Mark Latham IND
“The Government’s package of measures to, supposedly, stop antisemitism is an exercise in futility. It is a knee-jerk reaction from a Premier seduced by the bright lights of favourable media coverage, who has got himself way too close to the Jewish lobby and News Corp in particular.”
“Antisemitism goes against everything we stand for and the values we hold dear. Since the horrific acts of terrorism, kidnapping and murder of innocent Israelis by Hamas on 7 October 2023, there has been a disturbing rise of antisemitism. It is fair to say Australians are shocked by the events that have unfolded on the streets of Sydney.”
“I make a brief contribution to oppose the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025, noting the hour and the many verbs already thrown at this issue. I have stood against antisemitism in everything I have done in my political and personal lives.”
John Ruddick LIBT
“The Libertarian Party will oppose the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. All the anti-free-speech bills proposed today are misguided, but this one is by far the most egregious attack on free speech. I appeal to the Leader of the Opposition: We have the numbers with the crossbench, if the Liberal Party remains true to its principles.”
Anthony D'Adam ALP
“I listened to the contribution of the Hon. Damien Tudehope earlier in debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. I too am troubled by many aspects of the bill. I lament the inflexibility of our party system and the way that it operates to enable ideas that may not be broadly held to ultimately be made the law of the State. That should be troubling for all of us.”
Rod Roberts IND
“I make a contribution to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. This debate creates strange bedfellows because I have great sympathy for some of the propositions that Ms Sue Higginson put forward earlier tonight, which I could not comment on because I was chairing the Committee of the Whole. I also strongly support parts of what the Hon.”
Sue Higginson GRN
“On behalf of The Greens, I unsurprisingly oppose the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. We are not alone in our dissent from this bill. I will first approach the bill strictly from the legal perspective of its construction. Dr Ruth Higgins, SC, president of the New South Wales Bar Association, also does not support this bill.”
Tania Mihailuk IND
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. The recent spate of antisemitic attacks in New South Wales is reprehensible and beyond unacceptable. The Jewish community is understandably fearful for its safety. No group should ever have to live like that, especially in a proudly multicultural and multi-faith country like Australia.”
Emma Hurst AJP
“I speak briefly to the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. While many members have already made the point that racial hatred is an incredibly important issue in New South Wales and needs our attention, this bill is not the answer.”
Amanda Cohn GRN
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025 and support the excellent comments made by my colleagues Ms Sue Higginson as well as the Hon. Emma Hurst. I also place on record my support for the thoughtful comments of the Hon. Anthony D’Adam during debate. I too am horrified by the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Australia.”
Abigail Boyd GRN
“I briefly contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. I thank and acknowledge my colleagues for their contributions. I put on record my concerns with this bill, the dangerous implications it presents and the questions it will raise. I try as best I can to be careful with the language I use, because I am acutely aware of the impacts of language.”
Stephen Lawrence ALP
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025 and respond to some of the criticisms made of the bill. There has been a lot of discussion about the nature of the bill and the fact that it seeks to criminalise incitement to hatred by a public act. There has not been as much focus on the second limb of the offence.”
Bob Nanva ALP
“I apologise in advance given the late hour, but I make a brief contribution to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025. I note that the bill, like others debated today, provides a legislative response that none of us would have hoped necessary to an evil that most of us would not have believed to be so enduring.”
Courtney Houssos ALP
“Damien Tudehope, the Hon. Mark Latham, the Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones, the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham, the Hon. John Ruddick, the Hon. Anthony D’Adam, the Hon. Rod Roberts, Ms Sue Higginson, the Hon. Tania Mihailuk, the Hon. Emma Hurst, Dr Amanda Cohn, Ms Abigail Boyd, the Hon. Stephen Lawrence and the Hon. Bob Nanva.”
News articles and press releases
Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2025-02-18
The Government does not think that these antisemitic attacks begin and end with graffiti and setting fire to buildings and cars. They begin with hateful, racist language that may ultimately inspire an individual to commit a violent act. The new offence introduced by this bill, at proposed new section 93ZAA of the Crimes Act 1900, will prohibit the public and intentional incitement of hatred on the ground of race. The maximum penalty will be two years imprisonment and/or a fine of $11,000 for individuals or $55,000 for corporations.