Australia’s Hate Laws are a Gift to Extremists

Over 160 years ago, John Stuart Mill described silencing opinions as a “peculiar evil”, a warning that speaks volumes to today’s belief that moral ills can be decreed out of existence. In Australia, that temptation has now taken legislative form and risks handing extremists exactly what they seek.

In the wake of the attack on Jewish communities at Bondi Beach, the Australian government has rushed through the most intrusive hate speech laws in the Western world. They assert that by widening speech offences and the powers attached to them, regulators will be able to step in time before rhetoric spirals out into violence against Australia’s faith communities. Read Full Article »