Australia has enacted stringent new laws aimed at combating hate crimes, including the introduction of required minimum penalties for the display of hate symbols and a variety of terrorism charges, in response to an increase in antisemitic incidents in Melbourne and Sydney.
With minimum six-year prison terms for terrorism charges and at least 12-month sentences for less serious hate crimes, including publicly giving the Nazi salute, the new law, which was passed on Thursday, increases the severity of punishments for hate crimes.
Additionally, the law establishes new crimes for threatening violence or force against specific individuals and groups because of their gender identity, sexual orientation, handicap, religion, or ethnicity.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government initially proposed the changes last year amidst a rise in antisemitic attacks and calls for harsher penalties. However, the original proposal did not include mandatory sentencing, which Albanese had previously strongly opposed.
The government ultimately relented this week following criticism from political opponents who argued that Albanese was not doing enough to combat antisemitism.
When questioned about whether he had “backflipped” on the issue, the prime minister told CNN affiliate Sky News that he wanted people “engaged in antisemitism to be held to account.”
The Law Council of Australia expressed its “extreme disappointment” at the inclusion of mandatory sentencing. “Mandatory sentencing laws are arbitrary and limit the individual’s right to a fair trial by preventing judges from imposing a just penalty based on the unique circumstances of each offense and offender,” said council president Juliana Warner in a statement.
Impacts Of Recent Anti-Semitic Attacks
Anxiety is high among Australia’s 117,000-strong Jewish population following a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, including arson attacks on a childcare center and synagogues, as well as swastikas being scrawled on buildings and cars.
In late January, authorities announced that they had foiled a potential “mass casualty” attack with the discovery of a trailer packed with explosives in northwest Sydney, adding that there were “some indications” it was to be used against targets in the Jewish community.
While state and federal investigators have formed special taskforces to make arrests, Jewish leaders have been demanding more action from government officials. Authorities are investigating more than a dozen “serious allegations” among over 166 reports of antisemitic attacks received since mid-December, when Special Operation Avalite was formed to address the rise in antisemitism.
Officers are also looking beyond suspects accused of carrying out the crimes to “overseas actors” who may have paid for their services, police added.
Source: cnn
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Big family