Can I start by saying from the outset that it is an absolute privilege to be in this place. It comes with great responsibility, and so it is a real privilege to have the opportunity to speak in full support of this bill, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Bill 2024. This bill is about delivering a tranche of reforms to expand and strengthen our Victorian anti-vilification laws and better protect Victorians from that serious harm of vilification and hate conduct. This bill is the result of a lot of work over many, many years – of hard work and deep commitment to that policy engagement and development that has led to this bill before us that we are now debating.

I would like to start by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to those community organisations, individuals, faith-based groups and Victorians who shared their lived experience. They contributed to the development of this bill through the 2021 Victorian parliamentary inquiry into anti-vilification protections. It was heart-wrenching to read some of the submissions, but vilification, unfortunately, is very commonplace for many Victorians. It has harmful impacts and real consequences, and recently we have been seeing an alarming increase in reports of hate speech and conduct. That inquiry examined the effectiveness of our laws and did explore ways that we can strengthen protections against hate speech and discrimination, and it certainly showed an ugly side of our community. Like I said, we have had growing incidence of vilification and its harmful impacts in our communities. I want to thank the people who gave their brave testimonies. People from affected communities emphasised that emotional, psychological and social toll that vilification has on victims, and marginalised groups and individuals have described how the negative impact has impacted their wellbeing. I want to recognise that it takes a toll to participate in those processes, so I thank them for speaking up.

I believe we stand at a critical moment in our society, and it is about shaping what kind of society we want to be. I believe that we need to have a society – and I think a majority of people want to have a society – that values respect, dignity and unity. This bill is not just another legal reform; it is that fundamental step towards ensuring that all people, regardless of their background, regardless of where they come from, are protected from hate, discrimination and harm. For too long we have seen devastating consequences, whether it is racism, religious intolerance or other forms of hate speech that divide communities and that fuel violence. Words are powerful, and when they are used they can incite hate. They have real-world consequences.

This bill is about strengthening our laws. It is about ensuring that we condemn those behaviours but that they are also met with serious legal consequences. When vilification is more than words and it is a deliberate act of harm, it seeks to dehumanise, isolate and inflame division, and it is poised to spread fear. It undermines our social harmony, and if it is left unchecked it can lead to real-world violence, and we have seen this. There is nothing harmless about vilification, because it is not a mere expression of opinion or simple disagreement; it is about attacks on individuals and on communities. No-one should have to live in fear because of their race, their religion, their gender, their sexuality or who they are.

We must recognise that vilification does not appear out of anywhere. It is often driven by fear – fear of difference, fear of change or fear of the unknown – and there are those who seek to exploit that fear. They use it as a tool to divide us, turn communities against each other and spread misinformation for their own gain. History has shown us that when fear is weaponised, it can be catastrophic. We have seen political movements and media campaigns blaming others for societal problems. When it starts with words – hateful slogans, false accusations, divisive narratives – we know that those words can have consequences. Beyond law, this bill and our government send a very clear message: we will not tolerate hate in our communities. We will not allow people to be targeted simply for who they are. We will stand together to protect that social cohesion and build a safer, more inclusive society.

To those who question the need for stronger protections, I am going to ask you: what kind of society do we want to leave, for now and for our future generations? One where hate and division go unchecked or one where we have respect and inclusion, which will define us? By supporting this bill our government is reaffirming our commitment to fairness, justice and the idea that everyone deserves to live free from fear. Together we can ensure our communities are places where diversity is celebrated, not attacked, where communities can stand together, and we are not divided.

There are some elements to this bill where there are some new offences, and I will just quickly go through those. The bill does introduce two serious vilification offences to the Crimes Act 1958: an incitement offence and a threat offence. The incitement offence applies to conduct that is objectively likely to incite hatred against, serious contempt for, revulsion towards or severe ridicule for another person or group of persons on the grounds of a protected attribute. The offence is intended to capture extreme serious conduct, and that is punishable by up to three years imprisonment. There is a threat offence which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment as well.

But I just want to say that this bill is not about punishment, actually, it is about prevention. It is about sending that strong, powerful message that hate has no place in our society. It reaffirms that our commitment to free speech does not extend to speech that seeks to destroy the very freedoms that we cherish. Some may argue that laws cannot change attitudes, but I believe laws can set standards and they set expectations about how we treat each other. They protect our vulnerable, hold hateful people to account and make it clear that our society stands for that justice. At its core, this bill is about who we are and who we aspire to be and whether we will accept a culture of division or whether we will demand something better – and we must demand something better.

In conclusion, I would just like to end on maybe a more positive note about our future here in this state. I think that this bill and the conversations that we have seen today in this place on this bill are about a shared, fundamental, collective belief that we need respect for each other and that our diverse communities and the values that define our society are around respect for each other, because when we stand together we embrace our diversity, and it is a source of strength.

Victoria is home to many people from all around the world. We are shaped by migrants and our First Nations people, generations of communities who have brought their languages, cultures and traditions and woven them into the fabric of our society. That is what makes us stronger. This bill ensures that every Victorian, regardless of where they were born, what they believe or who they are, can walk down the street without fear and that they can live, work and contribute to a society where they know they are valued and respected and protected.

There is no greater strength in society than its people standing together, united not by a sameness but by our shared values and a commitment to looking after each other’s wellbeing. Social cohesion is not that lofty ideal. It is actually the foundations from which prosperous communities are built. That is the Victoria we believe in, that is the Victoria that we will fight for and that is the Victoria that we will protect. I commend the bill to the house.