The Labor Federal Government introduced a new Bill to Parliament last week titled 'Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024.

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan says this will give the government and its bureaucrats extraordinary powers to regulate speech and decide what is classed as misinformation. He gave a passionate speech, strongly opposing the legislation, describing it as an attack on free speech.

“This is the most dangerous Bill that has been introduced to Parliament in decades. It has no place in Australia,” Mr Hogan said.

“There is a famous quote that says, ‘I disagree with everything you say, but every day will defend your right to say it.’ That is not what Labor in Australia think.”

“What is one person’s misinformation is another person’s opinion. Imagine if this was in place during the Voice debate, when Labor labelled any view it didn’t like or agree with as ‘misinformation’.”

“If the Government decides that digital platforms have not censored enough ‘misinformation’, they can face large fines.” 

“Digital platforms don’t care about the free speech of Australians – but they do care about their profits. So they will censor large amounts of material to avoid the risk of fines.”

“The provisions of the Bill are extremely broad and would capture many things said by Australians every day.”

“Left-wing academics, scientists and artists are all exempt from the proposed rules. But if an everyday Australian said the same thing, or if they disagreed with the academic, it could be deemed misinformation.”

“It’s hard to believe that a government in any democracy would put this forward. This bill betrays our democracy. It incentivises censorship. It makes the government the ultimate arbiter of truth. It has no place in our nation.”