Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn AO reached out to the nation’s faith groups on Monday, 19 January, hosting a dinner for leaders of various religious traditions at her residence in Sydney.
The gathering was co-chaired by the NSW Faith Affairs Council and Better Balanced Futures, with faith representatives including the chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney Monica Doumit, Maronite Bishop of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, director of the Melkite Charitable Foundation Monica Chahoud, and chair of the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta Interfaith Commission Kate Xavier.
After the Bondi massacre on 14 December, in which 15 people at a celebration of the Jewish festival of Chanukah were gunned down, allegedly by father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, there has been an intense debate about religious extremism, antisemitism, hate speech, gun control, and racial vilification.
Religious leaders have been at the centre of the controversy.
At the dinner, the Governor-General affirmed the vital role faith communities play in Australia’s multicultural and multi-faith society.
She emphasised the freedom to practise faith, the importance of contributing positively to civic life, and the central role of education in fostering understanding and social cohesion.
The shared meal symbolised openness, trust and a collective responsibility to the nation.
An expression of this is a new initiative called “Choose a Mitzvah,” (a good deed) which was formally launched at the gathering.
The initiative encourages all Australians to commit to one of 15 good deeds – such as volunteering, giving blood or donating – in honour of the 15 victims. This initiative was developed by rabbinical leaders and has the unanimous support of the Faith Affairs Council members.
The Albanese government’s response to the devastating events at Bondi was to draft a controversial omnibus bill, which aimed at tackling religious extremism, antisemitism, hate and hate speech, racial and religious vilification, as well as gun control.
This was roundly criticised by all sides for being too rushed, too broad, and incoherent. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley described it as “pretty unsalvageable” before the Prime Minister conceded to narrow down the bill’s focus to the banning of hate preachers and ‘hate groups’ and their symbols.
The bill was expected to pass with the support of the Coalition, subject to amendments, as The Catholic Weekly went to press.
A strongly-worded letter from more than two dozen faith leaders may have influenced the government.
The letter dated 16 January was signed by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Anglican Bishop Michael Stead; Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel; Imam Shadi Alsuleiman, the president of Australian National Imams Council; Archbishop Makarios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia; Maronite Archbishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay; Melkite Bishop Robert Rabbat, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Amel Nona; and a number of other Protestant and Orthodox clerics.
The bill contained “(perhaps unintended) adverse implications for religious freedom and freedom of expression,” they said.
“Faith communities, legal experts, and civil society organisations have not been afforded a reasonable amount of time to properly study the legislation, assess its legal and constitutional implications, or prepare constructive and well-considered submissions for what has been described as the ‘most consequential change’ to Australia’s counterterrorism laws since 9/11.
“Legislation of this breadth and sensitivity requires careful deliberation and meaningful consultation.
“A rushed legislative process of this nature undermines confidence, increases the risk of unintended consequences, and does not assist community unity or social cohesion.”
The faith leaders’ letter argued that “our concern lies with whether the measures proposed are proportionate, balanced, and consistent with equality before the law. Laws designed to combat hatred and extremism must be carefully limited to their proper purpose and not create unintended consequences and damage the social fabric.”
They insisted that legislation is necessary – but it must be fit for purpose. “We are ready to work with the Government to improve the Bill to remove unintended consequences and overreach while achieving the aims of combatting antisemitism and racial and religious hatred,” the letter says. “But we need more time.”
Delay was opposed by some Jewish leaders, however.
“We are disappointed there will not be a serious vilification offence and very concerned at the message this will send that deliberate promotion of racial hatred is not considered serious enough to be criminalised,” said co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australia Jewry, Peter Wertheim.
“How much worse do things need to get before we as a nation finally have the courage to tackle the deliberate promotion of antisemitic hatred that is the heart of the problem?”
Reproduced with permission from The Catholic Weekly, the news publication of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.
