Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has claimed the Liberal Party was responsible for reshaping the Government’s hate laws, arguing the original package was flawed and risked overreach before Coalition intervention.
In a statement issued after the legislation passed the Senate, Ley said the Opposition acted “in the national interest” to correct what she described as serious failures by the Albanese Government.
“In the national interest, the Liberal Party has worked to fix legislation that the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and his government fundamentally failed to get right,” she said.
Ley accused Labor of failing to respond to rising antisemitism during its first term, linking that failure to last year’s attack in Bondi.
“For more than two years, the Albanese Government failed to confront the rising tide of antisemitism and failed to keep Australians safe,” she said. “That failure was exposed by the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil and, when leadership was required, the Prime Minister did not provide it.”
She said the legislation originally brought forward by the Government was rushed and poorly constructed.
“Instead, Labor produced a clumsy and deeply flawed package of laws that collapsed under scrutiny, divided the Parliament and risked encroaching on fundamental freedoms,” Ley said.
Ley argued that changes secured by the Coalition refocused the laws on serious threats while strengthening oversight and accountability.
“As a result of our action, the legislation has been strengthened and properly focused on keeping Australians safe,” she said.
She said the revised framework narrows its scope to combat antisemitism and radical Islamist extremism, while tightening how hate groups are defined and listed.
“Making the Prohibited Hate Groups Listing Framework more targeted to the most dangerous hate groups seeking to incite violence,” she said, was among the key changes, alongside “strengthening the role of Parliament in examining these powers”.
Ley said mandatory reviews by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security would ensure the new powers were “effective, proportionate and accountable”.
A central concern for the Opposition, she said, was ensuring the laws did not stray into the realm of lawful expression.
“Ensuring the laws are directed at serious criminal conduct that impacts national security, not at free speech,” she said.
She also highlighted new requirements for consultation with the Opposition Leader on the listing and delisting of extremist organisations, and measures to ensure migration powers could be used “decisively to remove extremists who threaten community safety”.
“These changes strengthen the law, close loopholes, and restore clarity and accountability,” Ley said.
She framed the Coalition’s position as one rooted in civil liberties, even in the face of extremism.
“The Liberal Party will always strongly defend freedom of thought, freedom of worship and freedom of speech,” she said. “Those freedoms define who we are as a nation, and they must be defended even when the task before us is to confront hatred and extremism.”
Ley said the final outcome marked a clear shift from the Government’s original intent.
“As a direct result of the Liberal Party’s stand, Labor’s attempt to criminalise free speech is no more,” she said.
She said the Opposition’s approach remained grounded in what she described as national interest.
“The Liberal Party will always act to keep Australians safe, defend freedoms and put the national interest first,” she said.
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