Bills

Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 13 November 2024.)

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (17:21): I rise to speak briefly on behalf of the government on the Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill 2024. At the outset, I indicate that the government will not oppose the passage of the bill through the council today and will further consider our position on the matter in the other place.

This bill was introduced in the last sitting week of 2024 and has two core elements: (1) extending the prohibition of Neo-Nazi symbols, legislated earlier this year, to apply to commonwealth-prescribed terrorist organisation symbols; and (2) create an offence for the desecration of the national flag of Australia or any other country, and any other flag prescribed by regulation.

The government acknowledges the merit of seeking to extend the current prohibition on publication of Nazi symbols to other prescribed terrorist groups. However, it is important that commonwealth and state law are kept consistent. The Australian Federal Police is the key body in the identification and monitoring of terrorist organisations and our definitions should be in line with theirs.

I am advised that the bill as drafted also contains the possible risk of invalidity of the new offence of flag desecration. Such a risk could be raised on the grounds of the constitutional implied freedom of political communication. Currently, there are no specific flag desecration offences in any other state or territory.

The conduct of burning a flag in a public place has previously been captured under laws around Australia by existing offences, including property damage if the flag does not belong to the burner or by offensive or disorderly conduct (if the conduct is disruptive so as to meet the definition). I am also not aware of any requests to government from law enforcement in relation to this sort of new offence. We will continue to consider this matter while the bill is before the House of Assembly, should it successfully pass here today.

The Hon. S.L. GAME (17:23): I rise to support the Hon. Frank Pangallo's Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill. I support the bill, recognising that it addresses grave concerns about the breakdown of social cohesion and threatens the safety of Australians, particularly Jewish Australians. The display of racial hatred in protests across Australia over the last 16 months is horrifying and demands a strong united response from this country's elected representatives.

We need to reassert that we are a civil society where people from diverse ethnic backgrounds can live together in peace because we all agree to respect each other and abide by the rule of law. We cannot and will not tolerate the presence of terrorist symbols at public protests or the outburst of racial intimidation that corrode the very foundations of our society. I believe this bill strikes the right balance between protecting freedom of speech and stemming the tide of racial hated and violence by only outlawing displays of support for prescribed terrorist organisations.

We need to be vigilant in making sure that those who advocate violence against any group of Australians are repelled; that signs and slogans of racial hatred have no place in our country. We also need to be vigilant about protecting our flag and everything it stands for. The burning or desecration of our country's flag as a sign of protest is a very serious offence. It is shocking and it is wrong. The hypocrites who enjoy all the good things that come from living in a country like Australia, and then publicly spit in the face of that country by desecrating its flag, should try living somewhere else for a change.

I want to recognise the Australian Jewish Association and other groups in our community who are deeply concerned about the increase of public support for terrorist organisations, and I stand with them in welcoming this legislation.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (17:24): I rise to speak on the Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill 2024. I indicate that I am the lead speaker for the opposition today and that the opposition agrees with the intent and principle of this bill and will support the passage of this bill through the Legislative Council. We will reserve our right to consider and look into it further between the houses. I thank the honourable member for bringing this important bill forward.

This bill, which is similar in nature to the Summary Offences (Nazi Salute and Symbols Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2024, goes a step further by amending the Summary Offences Act 1953 to prohibit the publication of all prescribed terrorist symbols. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the gravity of the issue at hand. The opposition recognises the intent of this bill in safeguarding South Australians from the harmful influence of terrorist organisations and the symbols they use to propagate fear and hatred in our communities. The safety and security of our South Australian communities must always be our priority.

This bill also includes a new provision, 35E, which makes it an offence to damage, destroy or deface a prescribed flag without reasonable excuse in a public place. A prescribed flag would include the national flag of any country and any other flag prescribed by regulations. More importantly, it is essential to recognise that the significant bulk of counterterrorism legislation falls under the jurisdiction of the commonwealth; therefore the opposition believes it would be prudent for this bill to be considered in the other place to allow greater opportunity to consult with Crown law via the government.

Given these considerations, the opposition supports this bill going through this house today. We believe that a more comprehensive and well-informed approach is necessary to ensure this issue is effectively considered and the quality of the bill is considered between the houses, but we support the passage today.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:27): I rise to speak very briefly on the Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill on behalf of the Greens. The Greens believe that everybody—all South Australians—should live without fear of racial violence, abuse or discrimination. Symbols have been used throughout history by movements to discriminate against different ethnicities, identities or religious beliefs.

We support the restriction on symbols used to instil hate. Meaningful democratic practice requires perspectives from a diverse range of groups, but we must also ensure that we are protecting people, especially minority groups, from harassment. This bill contemplates the types of symbols that should be prohibited. We do, however, have some concerns with the scope of the legislation that I would like to put on the record.

I note the advice that the government has provided today around some of the complexities and, in particular, the potential crossover with the Commonwealth Constitution. We certainly look forward to the government addressing those issues when the bill progresses through the houses. We also have concerns about the wording of the bill, which prohibits symbols that, and to quote from the bill, 'so nearly resemble a prescribed symbol that it could be mistaken as such'. This could be considered quite a wideranging prohibition, and there is the potential for some unintended consequences. We certainly would not want to see this capture symbols where there is no intention to replicate a dangerous symbol.

Legislating these types of prohibitions is complex, and there are obvious implications for other jurisdictions and, in particular, our constitution. We consider the government being best placed to obtain the necessary legal advice, and so it is our intention today to not oppose the bill but to allow the government to work through these issues between the houses.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:29): I rise today to speak on the Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill 2024. This bill would make two key changes to the Summary Offences Act, introducing offences for publishing or displaying a prescribed terrorist symbol unless it is for legitimate public purposes. This follows on from the legislation that passed in this parliament last year in 2024, which prohibits the use of the Nazi salute or Nazi symbols in South Australia. The bill before us today extends a similar prohibition to any symbol commonly associated with a prescribed terrorist organisation, as specified by the Commonwealth Criminal Code or prescribed by regulations.

Further, the bill introduces an offence for damaging, destroying, defacing or desecrating the national flag of Australia or any other country and any other flag prescribed by the regulations, including an image of a prescribed flag. I spoke in support of the Summary Offences (Nazi Salute and Symbols Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2024 and was privileged to serve with other members of the Legislative Council on a select committee which considered whether legislation was required to ban Neo-Nazi symbols in South Australia. The committee heard from many community leaders and stakeholders, who strongly advocated that such legislation was needed to address the increasing trend of antisemitism and far-right extremism in our society.

I am pleased that the work of the select committee was able to inform the development of the Nazi salute and symbols prohibition bill to balance a prohibition without improperly impinging on legitimate displays of Nazi symbols for educational and academic purposes nor upon the cultural or religious use of symbols that may be mistaken for Nazi symbols.

I note that the Hon. Frank Pangallo's bill is closely modelled on that piece of legislation and includes similar safeguards for the publication of a terrorist symbol for legitimate public purposes, such as genuine academic, artistic, religious, cultural or educational purposes. The bill would enable a police officer to direct a person to remove a prescribed terrorist symbol from display, and failure to comply with such a direction is an offence with a maximum penalty of $5,000.

It also goes further, including a provision for a police officer to confiscate any item that contravenes the prohibition. I am unclear at this stage whether this power to confiscate items that display a prescribed terrorist symbol is enlivened only after a direction to remove the symbol from display has been ignored or refused.

I agree with other members, from the Labor government, opposition and the Hon. Robert Simms in stating that the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill did pass the commonwealth parliament in 2023, which establishes criminal offences for the public display of prohibited Nazi and terrorist organisation symbols. I agree with the Hon. Frank Pangallo in his arguments that the burning of the national flag is deeply disrespectful and can be frightening or threatening. For myself and, I believe, many in our community, the act of burning a national flag crosses the line into an aggressive act that can no longer be considered a peaceful form of protest.

I just want to share my sentiments with the other members. I will not oppose the bill in this place and would like to see further development in the House of Assembly when it is dealt with by government when they have more resources to research into the matter and provide us with an evidence-based approach to handling the bill in further stages.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (17:33): I would like to thank the honourable members—the Hon. Russell Wortley, the Hon. Heidi Girolamo, the Hon. Sarah Game, the Hon. Robert Simms and the Hon. Jing Lee—for their words and general support for this legislation and its intent. This legislation could not actually be more timely, given the hate, the activism and radicalisation that is breaking out across our nation. The angry and divisive politics in foreign lands has hit our shores through the extraordinary surge in migration under the Albanese government—more than one million in just two years.

Migrants and refugees, as we know, have given this country a lot and have provided their efforts in making this such a great multicultural country. Of course, we acknowledge the work that these people have done in this country and what they have contributed. It is just sad that there is a small proportion of these migrants and refugees who came into this country and were not adequately screened by our security agencies. They have gone on to commit crimes and also have tried to destabilise our society. Now we find that our social cohesion is at risk.

These radicals are also trying to infuse their troubling views—not shared by the majority of Australians in this country—into influencing our Indigenous people into contemplating some kind of revolution against what is happening in this country, or against what is not happening, actually. They also snub our laws and acknowledge organisations that instil terror and commit murder—wholesale murder and slaughter of innocents, slaughter of the elderly and slaughter of children.

At rallies in this country they display the symbols of dozens of prescribed terrorist organisations. There is a reason our government has issued this list of prescribed terrorist organisations: it is because of the way they conduct themselves, so that we do not want to be associated with them. We and our governments certainly are strongly opposed to what they do in the countries in which they operate.

I note the comments of the Hon. Russell Wortley, particularly in relation to the bill. Yes, it probably does need some tinkering here and there—my office does not have the resources—but the intent of this bill I think would be supported by the vast majority of Australians, without a shadow of a doubt.

Regarding the comments in relation to the burning of national flags, it is probably one of the most disrespectful acts that someone could commit in public, whether it is the Australian flag or any other nation's flag. Again, it is usually done in acts of hate and violence. There are people who would be offended by seeing their national flag being burnt openly as a symbol of opposition to the country in which they reside. I was appalled when I saw the Australian flag being burnt at protests in Canberra. I just could not comprehend that people would resort to that extent to show their hate of the country in which they actually live and which supports them and does so much for them.

This legislation may be a first for this country, but I think it is a good first. Again, I am confident that the vast majority of Australians would support it. In fact, when I flagged this legislation—and I was on national TV about it—the network received numerous calls, letters and emails of support for what we are planning to do here.

As for the other mentions, I think the other aspect of Mr Wortley's remarks was about having uniform laws and that perhaps it is best that it is done with the commonwealth first and to then let them enforce it through the Australian Federal Police. Seriously? Why can we not have our own laws in South Australia? Why do we need to rely on the Australian Federal Police to enforce legislation that would apply in any other state?

The Hon. R.A. Simms: Quit while you're ahead, Frank. You've got the numbers.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: No, that is okay. Are you in a hurry to go? I have nearly finished. I wanted to make it quite clear that you cannot just rely on commonwealth laws in relation to this. We can do it in South Australia and we should be able to do it, just like we did with the Nazi symbols. We followed the commonwealth with that.

I hope that this legislation is taken up by the government in the other place. I do note that they want to take a closer look at it, but I also hope that they do act on it and not just provide empty words to this place. With that, I commend the legislation.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (17:43): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.