Thursday, 22 February 2024

Community safety

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (11:56): (431) My question is to the Attorney-General. Minister, I refer to doxxing, the malicious release of personal information, including the recent publication of details of about 600 Jewish creative industries individuals, and I ask: what steps has the Allan Labor government taken to safeguard against this appalling, malicious, shameful and in this case antisemitic scourge in Victoria?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (11:57): I thank Mr Davis for his question. I agree with your characterisation of that behaviour, and it is indeed concerning to me and our government, and that is why it fits well with the work that we are doing in anti-vilification reforms. As you know, many, many members of our community feel that they are subjected to intolerance and, at its extreme, hate. We know that our laws are ineffective in dealing with such behaviour, and I have updated the house regularly on where we are headed with anti-vilification reforms. We are continuing those negotiations. It is really complex, because you are balancing freedom of speech versus protections for people that are vulnerable, and I want to get that right. So that legislation is on track and will be introduced into the house this week.

In relation to doxxing, you would have seen announcements that have been made by the federal government in relation to what they plan on looking at, and they are hoping to come up with some laws. I have the Standing Council of Attorneys-General tomorrow, and Victoria’s agenda item is anti-vilification, because I want to hear from the other states in relation to their experiences, their laws, their programs and, importantly, how the federal legislation or their proposed responses can integrate with Victoria’s laws. When it comes to issues that involve information dissemination across online mechanisms, that is very much the domain of the federal government, so I am very much hoping that the information that I receive from the federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus tomorrow complements the work that we are focused on here in Victoria.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (11:59): I thank the minister for her response, and I welcome the fact that the attorneys-general nationally will be looking at this tomorrow, as I understand it. I just note that Paul Kelly wrote in the Australian recently, on Wednesday:

Labor should understand one thing – it has essentially left the Jewish community in Australia without cover during the most damaging and sustained outbreak of anti-Semitism since World War II, an outbreak only getting worse.

In that context I wish the minister well in convincing some of her national colleagues. But I ask: beyond putting it on the agenda nationally, what concrete action will you take against antisemitism in Victoria?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:00): Mr Davis, public safety and the protection of Victorians are at the heart of many portfolios in the Allan Labor government. I am on the record in relation to what we can do from a legislative sense, but I am also on the record saying I wish we did not have to have laws. I think education, tolerance and social cohesion are a much better approach to dealing with instances of disharmony, vilification, hate speech and all of the things I know that everyone in this chamber believes are not a part of Victorian society. It is a very tragic situation at the moment. It is deeply distressing that we have violence and harassment happening in our community, which is very much a direct result of conflicts overseas. I am focused on the community here – (Time expired)