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Stay updated with this round-up of breaking news and commentary on the Albanese government’s fast-tracked ‘hate speech’ laws.

The Albanese government’s Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, which was released as an exposure draft last Tuesday, is heading for a vote today after frantic tweaks and a bipartisan deal struck late yesterday.

What began as a 300+ page omnibus package — which bundled new ‘hate speech’ offences, visa cancellation powers and gun buyback measures — has been reigned in amid widespread public pushback.

Labor split off the gun reforms and shelved the most controversial element: federal criminalisation of promoting or inciting racial hatred. A deal with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, finalised yesterday, included Coalition amendments and a promised two-year review, clearing the path for passage in today’s special sitting.

Given the unusual speed at which the Prime Minister is seeking to pass this legislation, I’m making the unusual move of constructing an article in real time, adding details and commentary as it happens.

First, from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson:

BREAKING: The government and opposition claims to have dumped controversial ‘Racial Vilification’ clauses, but have quietly changed the definition of a hate crime to include the same language!

The new hate crime bill was only delivered to One Nation at 10am today. No one has been consulted on this inclusion and the incorporation of State offences. Changing a significant definition like this hasn’t been looked at by anyone in last week’s inquiry.

BREAKING: The government and opposition claims to have dumped controversial ‘Racial Vilification’ clauses, but have quietly changed the definition of a hate crime to include the same language!

The new hate crime bill was only delivered to One Nation at 10am today. No one has… pic.twitter.com/kIdYW5YgCU

— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) January 20, 2026

From Nationals Senator Matt Canavan:

Labor’s hate groups laws are badly written and too broad. Say you have a group that is organising a boycott of Russian products because of the Ukraine War. Their actions meet the definition of a “hate crime” under this law. This is because the law defines a “hate crime” as something that would involve “serious harm” to a person based on their “national origin”. Under the law, harm is defined to include “economic harm”. A boycott based on the national origin of products could clearly cause economic harm to a person and therefore a group organising such a boycott would be guilty of a hate crime…

This is an excessive expansion of government power. These laws should be opposed.

From the Australian Jewish Association:

The Australian Jewish Association is calling on the Government and Opposition not to rush into a deal which may negatively impact Australians.

It is unclear why this law must be rushed through with such urgency so that the public is denied the chance to even read the new bill. The Government had over 2 years to act and did nothing.

We would have grave concerns about the Home Affairs Minister having increased discretion to ban speech or groups he doesn’t agree with. We have seen how power has been abused to revoke visas from Jewish, Israeli and other conservative visitors.

From Family First National Director and Daily Declaration contributor Lyle Shelton:

Australia abandoned freedom of speech a long time ago. I’m embroiled in what has now been six years of costly litigation with no end in sight. Two anti-free speech drag queens used existing “hate speech” laws to sue me because I said they were dangerous role models for children, which they are. We don’t need new “hate speech” laws. We need to repeal the ones we have so we have free speech. We simply need to enforce existing laws which rightly prohibit incitement of violence. But our politicians were too weak to do this and 15 people were shot dead by Islamic radicals.

From pro-life campaigner Professor Joanna Howe:

The Australian is reporting that Sussan Ley and the Liberals have agreed to support Albanese’s Hate Groups Bill. This is DISTURBING on so many levels.

1) This bill has been rushed and the views of Australians have not been considered. Over 7,000 Australians made submissions about the bill which have not been considered.

2. Overnight 2 million Australians emailed MPs with concerns about the bill via Turning Point Australia’s portal and their views have been completed sidelined.

3. Labor has guillotined debate in the Senate which means there will not be proper time for debate as they have drastically cut debate time today so that a vote will be forced to happen.

4. Leaving aside the serious procedural defects in the way this has been rushed, there are bigger substantive problems with this bill as it gives the Minister for Home Affairs extraordinary new powers to designate a group of Australians a “hate group” and introducing 15 year prison sentences for anyone associated with the group.

From the family of the youngest Bondi victim, Matilda Britvan:

Laws are rarely for protection. They are usually to control law-abiding people and not the criminals, because criminals do not care about any laws you make about any speech or any guns. They will find their way…

When the government tries to rush any laws, especially after a tragedy, they’re never good.

From libertarian commentator Jordan Ditloff:

Today we will witness Labor and Liberal join forces to pass a hate crimes Bill that nobody except draftspeople who have been up all night hastily rewriting it will have read prior to parliament sitting to vote on it today.

That is all you need to know.

From Nationals leader David Littleproud:

It is not the gun owners of Australia that have done this. It is radical Islam that has done this… This is a failure of process, not a failure of gun licensing. The fact is, the authorities did not act and take away the licence and the weapons, as they should…

You are impinging on the rights of lawful Australians [who] have proven to do the right thing, to have respected the law. We are trying to solve a problem that is not there. You are taking away the attention on what is the real problem in this country.

From Daily Declaration contributor Rebekah Barnett:

Albo circa 2019: ‘Australians should have their voices heard even if PM doesn’t want to hear them’.

Look who wants silent Australians now.

Hate speech laws, a failed ‘misinformation’ bill, MORE hate speech laws. How about guaranteeing a bill of rights and press freedom @AlboMP?

From independent commentator Rukshan Fernando:

Watching Parliament today, it appears the Liberal Party has grown something of a spine. They are rejecting Albanese’s free speech crackdown and the scapegoating of lawful gun owners, and instead rightly pointing the finger at radical Islam and the government’s own failures to combat the rise of antisemitism in Australia.

Having a viable third-party option in One Nation on its feet might be giving them more encouragement to be decisive.

Also from Rukshan Fernando:

A lot of time and effort is being spent in Parliament at the start of the year on a possible range of drastic changes to the freedoms of Australians. This is all unnecessary theatre, as the root underlying causes radical Islam and blatant antisemitism, encouraged by the Labor Party and the Greens, will continue as long as they look the other way.

The correct response would have been, the day after the Bondi attack, to launch mass raids on Islamic hate centres, arrest and or deport all non-citizen individuals linked to radicalisation, and impose a swift temporary two-year ban on immigration and canceling of temporary visas from countries that promote radical Islam and antisemitism.

This type of approach would encourage those communities themselves to possibly take corrective measures, offering the possibility of achieving the same outcomes as these proposed laws without targeting the freedoms of Australians.

There are of course other measures like reviewing or strengthening intelligence and law enforcement operations, but those things could happen without infringing on the rest of the community.

From former federal MP Craig Kelly:

We already have laws against inciting violence. They are not being enforced. The answer is not more laws, more bureaucracy, and more control — it is enforcing the laws we already have.

Twice now, Australia has narrowly escaped being dragged toward authoritarianism by dangerous, ill-conceived legislation from the Albanese regime.

First came the Orwellian Mis and Disinformation Bill — an open attempt to create a government-sanctioned Ministry of Truth.

Now we are confronted with this latest abomination dressed up as a ‘hate speech’ bill.

Enough.

Instead of this nonsense and political gamesmanship, we should protecting freedom of speech, as Australians are sick of panicked, ideological lawmaking designed to silence dissent.

The vague ’implied’ freedom of political communication supposedly in our Constitution is not good enough.

Our freedoms must be explicit, absolute, and constitutionally protected, spelt out in black and white.

We need a referendum, at the earliest possible opportunity, to amend the Constitution to state clearly and unequivocally:

“Parliament shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech.”

From Libertarians NSW President Ross Cameron:

Stunning to me that Labor is prepared to introduce a bill, and Lib/Nats to vote for it, that could change the Australian way of life, when the ink is still wet after zero scrutiny of the new terms.

From Liberal Senator Alex Antic:

I don’t support any so called “compromise position” in relation to the Hate Crimes Bill being introduced into Parliament today and will be crossing the floor to vote against it and the Firearms Bill it in their entirety.

The Labor Government’s process has been appalling but the… pic.twitter.com/5vPMxSlu0N

— Senator Alex Antic (@SenatorAntic) January 20, 2026

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.