MEDIA STATEMENT 21 January 2026
After the Bondi terrorist attack, Australians deserved serious, targeted laws to confront antisemitism and radical Islamist extremism.
Instead, they were handed chaos by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Labor rushed a sprawling, incoherent omnibus bill that cut across multiple areas of law with minimal time for scrutiny and no consultation with the Coalition. Stakeholders were given barely 48 hours to provide submissions to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Parliament was sidelined. National security lawmaking was treated like a political rush job.
That approach was unacceptable.
When it became clear the Government was determined to slam this legislation through in its original form, the Coalition was left with a choice: stand aside and let bad law pass, or step in, be the adults in the room and do the hard work to make it safer, tighter and more effective.
We chose responsibility. We recognised what was at stake. Allowing the bill to go through unchanged risked suppressing the rights of law-abiding Australians, while letting radical Islamic extremists off the hook.
Firstly, the Coalition forced the Government to split the Bill, exposing how unstable and poorly drafted Labor’s original approach was. We then voted against the firearms legislation, which unfairly targeted lawful gun owners and had nothing to do with combatting antisemitism and radical Islamic terrorism.
We also secured the complete removal of Labor’s proposed racial vilification provisions, which was essential to protect free speech and prevent lawful debate from being criminalised.
We then turned to fixing what remained.
As a result of Coalition amendments, the legislation is now far more focused on genuine national security threats. Aggravated offences will properly capture radical Islamist extremist preachers and leaders, including visiting speakers who exploit positions of influence to incite violence.
Penalties for serious extremist and hate-motivated offences have been increased. Parliamentary oversight has also been strengthened through mandatory two-year reviews to ensure these extraordinary powers remain effective, proportionate and accountable.
The new prohibited hate group regime will focus on the most dangerous groups seeking to incite violence, closing loopholes that have long been exploited by neo-Nazi groups and radical Islamic groups like Hizb ut Tahrir, which for too long have acted as conveyer belts to terrorism with little consequence. Supporting this regime was a necessary step to address the underlying ideology that led to Bondi.
We could not allow a scenario where rejecting these provisions would leave neo-Nazi groups free to continue operating with impunity.
We also ensured migration powers are used decisively to remove extremists who threaten community safety, while insisting these powers be confined to their proper purpose and not misused for political ends.
Let me be clear: this Bill is not perfect. But it would have been far worse if we left it as is and left it to the Greens to force the Government to agree to its demands. Law-abiding Australians would have paid the price.
There is still a great deal left to do to confront antisemitism, dismantle extremist networks and restore confidence among Jewish Australians that their safety is being taken seriously. We also await the outcomes of the Royal Commission at the end of the year, the same Royal Commission that the Government refused to call for 25 days after the Bondi attack.
Given the legislation we were dealt by the Government and the manner in which it was prepared, walking away would have produced a far worse outcome.
The Coalition acted as the adults in the room. We applied scrutiny under extreme time pressure, fixed fundamental flaws, removed dangerous provisions, and delivered a materially safer and more targeted law.
This was not about politics. It was about community safety, the rule of law, and defending the freedoms that define us as a nation.
The Coalition worked hard around the clock for this result and will continue to push for stronger, clearer and more decisive action against antisemitism and radical Islamist extremism, and we will continue to hold this Government to account for its ongoing failures in this space.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
