Wednesday, 9 March 2022

Legal and Social Issues Committee

Inquiry into Anti-Vilification Protections

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (10:32): I rise to make some comments on the inquiry into anti-vilification protections, which was an inquiry that took place in March 2020. In that committee there were a number of very, very important recommendations that were developed, one of which was recommendation 24:

That the Victorian Government establish a criminal offence that prohibits the display of symbols of Nazi ideology, including the Nazi swastika, with considered exceptions to the prohibition.

Recommendation 24 also looks at the display of other symbols. This was very much a groundbreaking report, and that recommendation was certainly the first of its kind that we had seen anywhere in this country. It follows a policy that the Liberal-Nationals took a year before that, in February 2020, which said that should we be elected the Liberal-Nationals would actually ban that hateful symbol. So it is very, very pleasing that a committee inquiry followed that, that a lot of really good work was done and that the government then took on in September 2021 the public acceptance of that recommendation to say we would get on and actually do this. A number of months have now followed, and we have not seen the legislation before the chamber.

Absolutely we stand to work in a bipartisan manner to make this happen, because it is very important for all of us. There is no place for hate in this state, no place at all, and we know that hateful symbol and that hurtful symbol is used against so many communities, not just the Jewish community which I proudly represent but a number of other communities as well. In the last couple of weeks we have seen the symbol emerge in a terrible way. Firstly, my federal colleague Josh Burns, who is running for the seat of Macnamara—now, Josh and I obviously do not agree on a lot of things, but on his political signage around the electorate on a number of telephone boxes a swastika was painted on his face, across the sign, in a horrific manner. There is no place for that. Following that, in the last couple of days, we saw a sign in someone’s front yard in Snowdon Avenue in Caulfield. I am not talking a swastika the size of a page. I am talking a swastika the size of this table that was put out for all and sundry to view. The council had to effectively use bluff and bluster to get that taken down and effectively said that because the people had left the premises and there was no one there, it was rubbish that they could remove.

Now, we know if there was a tenant that really dug their heels in there would be nothing that we could do. In the time that that symbol was there, there were a number of people—again, Holocaust survivors and families of Holocaust survivors—that had to experience that. So I do plead with the government to get their skates on. Let us get the legislation before the house, and let us get this symbol banned. Let us show a very, very important focus to the broader community, to everybody, that there is no place for this kind of thing at all. This state has championed multiculturalism, inclusiveness and support for all, and I think that this ban is certainly a very, very important step for all of us.

I might add that there was a lot of publicity that Victoria was going to be the very first state in Australia that would actually do this. Surprisingly, there were reports last week to say that New South Wales will be beating us to the punch, and there is legislation now that they are developing before the Parliament to get the ban happening. So if New South Wales can actually do this, even though we have been talking about this for a number of years, it is disappointing that we have not got things done earlier.

This is not a political statement; this is a statement for us to work together. Let us get that symbol banned. Let us do whatever it takes. I stand ready to work with the Attorney-General in any possible way to see the legislation before the house. I can tell you it will be a celebration for all of us to finally see that we have the protections in place that we all deserve. As I have said on many occasions, there is no place at all for this. Let us unite. Let us get the Nazi swastika banned so that we do not have people using it as a hurtful symbol.