Queensland’s Deputy Premier has launched an inflammatory tirade accusing Labor of supporting terrorists and antisemitism after the opposition party ultimately voted against contentious government hate speech and gun control laws.
The laws, amended by the government today to enshrine two contested pro-Palestinian phrases instead of handing the attorney-general powers to ban any phrase, sparked significant criticism from civil society groups across the political spectrum.
Labor had raised concerns about the bill’s rushed process, its failure to go far enough on gun reform and curb on free speech, but said it would ultimately back the bill at the second reading without clarifying what it would do at the ultimate vote.
Holding a brief media conference outside the parliamentary chamber after the vote, Bleijie reiterated that Labor had voted against banning non-citizens from having guns and applying “adult time” penalties to youth gun offences.
“[Opposition Leader] Steven Miles is a liar. The Labor Party are liars. The Labor Party are full of antisemites, and it just shows the hate they have for the Jewish community,” Bleijie told reporters.
“The Labor Party voted for terrorists to commit terrorism activities against Queenslanders.”
In a statement, Miles said the LNP did not give Labor MPs the chance to review, consult or debate on the last-minute changes.
“David Crisafulli and the LNP also gagged debate, cutting short the conversation about these serious laws,” Miles said. “It’s an incredible abuse of their overwhelming majority in the Parliament, an abuse we couldn’t stand by.”
While voting for the second reading of the bill as flagged earlier this week, all 30 Labor MPs in the chamber voted against the ultimate third reading of the bill to cries of “shame” from the LNP government benches.
All 52 LNP MPs voted for the bill’s passage, as did the state’s two Katter’s Australian Party MPs.
Greens Maiwar MP Michael Berkman, independent Noosa MP Sandy Bolton, and Labor-turned-independent Stafford MP Jimmy Sullivan also voted against the bill.
Labor’s Jonty Bush, Barbara O’Shea, Jennifer Howard, Mark Furner and Shane King were not present for the vote.
Furner had not been present all week, King was absent after Tuesday and Howard was not present from the start of Thursday’s sitting.
Bush and O’Shea, who represent two of the state’s most progressive seats, had been present earlier in the day, with the latter in the chamber less than an hour before the vote.
At the time of the vote, Bush was attending an International Women’s Day event at Government House. O’Shea was said to have been on personal leave.
Debate on the bill extended across the entirety of this week’s three-day parliamentary sitting, with Labor MPs reiterating concerns about its impact on free speech amid internal pressure to oppose the laws.
Government MPs used the week to highlight Facebook posts from Cairns Labor MP Michael Healy, which they claimed were antisemitic and were grounds for Miles to sack him from the shadow cabinet as a leadership test.
Responding to debate before the vote, Police Minister Dan Purdie sought to portray the government’s eleventh-hour decision to write the slogans (“from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada”) as a strengthening, rather than responding to concerns.
“We are taking decisive action to enshrine the phrases in legislation, because Labor simply cannot be trusted not to repeal the regulations and remove these prohibitions when they return to government,” Purdie said.
He also made reference to a submission to parliamentary scrutiny of the bill from an anonymous Labor preselection candidate who said they were unsuccessful because they would not say they were pro-Palestine.
“So, while the member [Healy] still remains a member of Labor’s leadership team, the question still remains – is it a requirement to be a Labor Member of Parliament in Queensland, that you have to have antisemitic views?”
In his media conference, Bleijie suggested the changed stance from the government was about listening to Labor and the criticism of others.
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics and the public service. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.