In the aftermath of the Bondi terror attack, there have been understandable and justified calls for the Government to take concrete steps addressing the rise of antisemitism that inspired this attack.

While there is no question of the need to address antisemitism, it is important to beware of the inherent risks in hate speech legislation, and regulation of speech.

In the midst of calls for stronger laws and a royal commission into antisemitism and radicalisation, opposition Leader Sussan Ley struck a nuanced and welcome tone. While offering support for the Government’s proposal for tightening hate speech laws, Ley cautioned that the laws should be restricted to Islamic extremism and antisemitism.

Her comments came after LGBT groups have begun lobbying to have other protected attributes included in the strengthened laws.

Ley told reporters [emphasis added]:

“I want to be very clear, tackling hate speech is not a licence to go after free speech. There are clear issues that this legislation needs to address. It needs to be targeted to the threats that we face, and those threats are radical Islamic extremism and antisemitism.”

Ley is right to point out that measures to deal with the specific threats that led to the Bondi attack cannot be conflated with efforts to curb free speech in general.

The risk with any speech laws is that they may erode the fundamental right of free speech. Ley’s call for these laws to be narrow and specific would help alleviate that risk.

But the push to include other attributes, including LGBT identities, shows how quickly the door can be opened for speech laws to be used to target free speech and silence those who hold traditionally Christian views.

Ley said she did not believe any upcoming legislation should be expanded beyond antisemitism and Islamic extremism.

The aftermath of such a shocking and tragic attack is fraught and the desire for strong action is understandable.

However, we must be conscious that good intentions can make bad law, and everybody loses if fundamental rights of free speech and freedom of religion are not upheld as we navigate our response to the Bondi attacks.