Coalition splits on hate speech, raising questions about its future
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The news: The Liberals and Nationals have dramatically split over Labor’s hate speech laws, again raising questions about the future of the Coalition.
The context: Labor’s contentious hate speech laws passed the Senate in a late-night sitting on Tuesday, arranged in response to the Bondi terror attack last month.
After initially declaring Labor’s plan “unsalvageable”, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley secured amendments to the plan in exchange for the Liberals’ support on Monday.
But, in a significant development on Tuesday evening, Nationals leader David Littleproud revealed his party would vote against the provisions unless its attempts to send the bill to a committee for further scrutiny failed.
“The Coalition has secured significant improvements to the legislation, but The Nationals’ partyroom has concluded that more time is required to more fully examine and test the Bill before it is finalised,” he said.
While Littleproud insisted the decision did “not reflect on the relationship” between the two parties, it may have significant ramifications for the Coalition.
The Coalition agreement requires Liberal and Nationals shadow cabinet members to vote in unison, a principle reiterated when it reunified after a brief split in May 2025. As of Tuesday evening, Liberal leadership was yet to decide on its response.
Earlier on Tuesday, Nationals MPs abstained from voting in the lower house as the party weighed its decision, arguing they had been given insufficient time to assess the bill and warning of unintended consequences.
During debate in the Upper House, Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie railed against “Islamic extremism” and pushed for an amendment requiring the bill be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.
When the Liberals rejected McKenzie’s amendment, the Nationals made good on Littleproud’s threat by voting against the bill in its entirety.
During negotiations with the government, the Liberals focused on concerns that the broad wording in Labor’s draft could impede free speech. The bill ultimately included the phrase “the promotion of violence” in the definition of hate groups, a review of the laws in two years, and consultation with the opposition leader before a group is outlawed.
In a statement, Ley said the Liberal Party had “stepped up to fix legislation that the Albanese government badly mishandled”.
What they said: “As a result of Liberal Party action, the legislation has been narrowed, strengthened and properly focused on keeping Australians safe, not political point scoring,” Ley said.
The source: Parliament of Australia
