source : the age
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has doubled down on claims the Labor opposition is antisemitic and supports terrorism, in a repeat of his tirade after hate speech and gun laws passed through Queensland parliament.
The senior government leader denied his charged rhetoric, levelled at the Steven Miles-led opposition that decided to vote against the controversial laws in the eleventh-hour, risked further inflaming community tensions.
“It is an absolute disgrace,” Bleijie said of the last-minute decision from Labor on Thursday night to vote against the bill, which passed anyway.
Under the legislation, Queenslanders would risk prison time for using the phrases “from the river to the sea” or “globalise the intifada” to menace, harass or offend.
Increased penalties for a range of firearm offences were also introduced, and Australian citizenship was made mandatory to apply for a gun licence.
The opposition said throughout the week it agreed with the sentiment of the bill, but was concerned the process had been rushed, freedom of speech could be curtailed, and the gun reforms did not go far enough.
“Labor stands against any form of hate, antisemitism or vilification of any kind,” Miles said in a statement.
Bleijie was having none of it.
“The Labor Party are full of antisemites, and it just shows the hate they have for the Jewish community,” he said after the vote.
“The Labor Party voted for terrorists to commit terrorism activities against Queenslanders.”
Bleijie was asked on Friday morning if he was concerned that labelling a political party antisemitic could trigger further division in the community.
“Not at all … I categorically reject it,” he said.
“For goodness’ sake,15 Australians were butchered in cold blood. Let’s not forget what this was about,” he said, in reference to the Bondi Beach terror attack in December.
Some federal coalition MPs had also raised concerns about possible unintended consequences of a national hate-speech bill on freedom of speech earlier this year.
When the deputy premier was asked about this by reporters on Friday morning, he doubled down.
“The Labor Party put terrorists before Queenslanders last night when they voted against these laws,” Bleijie said.
He added that he was not worried the legislation could prove difficult to enforce, or increase use of banned phrases among protesters.
“The laws are the laws, strong laws have been put in place, and it’s an operational matter for the police,” Bleijie said.
Throughout the week, Bleijie drew attention to controversial posts made on social media by Cairns Labor MP Michael Healy about Israel.
On Friday, the deputy premier acknowledged he had known about them for some time before raising them in parliament.
“Sometimes you have to do a bit of research, and you also have to ensure that it’s the individual in question,” he said.
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