Suite of Bills will safeguard our free speech

15 July 2018

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm has introduced three bills to comprehensively improve free speech, including tackling overreach in national security and censorship law.

“Freedom of speech is fundamental to our democratic society and this freedom is precious. It is our right, not something conferred on us at the whim of government,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.

The Senator’s Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Security) Bill 2018 will remove bans on journalists reporting, and the general public discussing, the operations of security agencies unless such communications endanger someone’s health or safety.

“Paring back these restrictions would allow journalists to do their job and impose greater discipline on government,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.

“If law enforcement agencies want to have secret operations, it is their responsibility to keep them secret. If these operations are being discussed publicly, then this indicates a failure within our law enforcement agencies, not criminal activity by the public.”

Senator Leyonhjelm’s Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Censorship) Bill 2018 will remove the government’s power to ban publications, films and computer games based solely on the grounds that they might offend against standards of morality, decency and propriety.

“This is an excessive restriction on what adults can read, watch, play and listen to,” he said.

The Bill will not remove bans on material that depicts child sex or promotes, incites or instructs in crime, and dealing in child pornography will remain a serious criminal offence.

The third Bill — the Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Insult and Offend) Bill 2018 — will amend 23 existing Acts to remove bans on speech that someone finds insulting or offensive. (Section 18C is not included, as Senator Leyonhjelm has separate legislation to repeal this).

“Feeling insulted or offended is a subjective feeling that can vary enormously between individuals and for which nobody else is responsible,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.

“Threatening to imprison someone who may not have intended to offend, simply because someone chooses to take offence, is not only unjust; it also undermines public debate.”

Media: Kelly Burke 0408 734 586

Summary of Free Speech Bills

Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Security) Bill 2018

This removes restrictions on speech in national security legislation that are unnecessary to ensure the security of Australians.

· Removes a criminal offence of reporting on or discussing the operations of security agencies if those communications do not endanger health or safety

· Removes a criminal offence of staff and associates of security agencies making disclosures that do not endanger anyone’s health or safety

· Removes the offence of someone who is held without charge in preventative detention communicating that they are being detained to someone to whom they are granted access

· Makes a distinction between inciting terrorism/genocide and advocating terrorism/genocide and removing the latter as a criminal offence. Allowing such views to be expressed allows for rebuttal, and can assist security agencies to identify people holding terrorist and genocidal views.

Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Censorship) Bill 2018

This focusses on the freedom to receive communications.

· Removes bans on publications, films and computer games that offend against standards of morality, decency and propriety

· No change to the ban on publications, films and computer games that promote, incite or instruct in crime, or that portray children engaged in sexual activity

· Removes X18+ bans for subscription broadcasting, datacasting and online content, provided that access is restricted by way of disabling devices (eg PIN access)

· Removes a ban on broadcasting electoral advertising on election day or on the preceding Thursday or Friday

· Removes the ban on pornography in designated parts of the Northern Territory, where the pornography is legally available elsewhere in Australia.

Freedom of Speech Legislation Amendment (Insult and Offend) Bill 2018

This Bill removes restrictions in 23 Commonwealth Acts on speech that someone may find insulting or offensive, beyond section 18C. Bans include insulting various parts of executive government, (eg bankruptcy, copyright, defence personnel, veterans, competition law, environmental regulation and workplace regulation tribunals). This bill also removes a ban on offensive conduct online, while maintaining the ban on menacing and harassing online content.

Restrictions on speech that someone may find insulting or offensive

· generate uncertainty, because predicting whether someone will find speech to be insulting or offensive varies between individuals and is difficult to anticipate

· may be unjust, because there may be no intention to insult or offend

· can act as a catalyst to more harmful behaviour

· can conceal criminal intent from law enforcement bodies

· could drive such speech out of the mainstream, where it can be debated and rebutted, and into polarised echo‑chambers.