Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has confirmed that the Coalition will strongly oppose Labor’s new Misinformation Bill, labelling it an attack on free speech.
“The Government’s first Misinformation Bill, released last year, faced backlash with more than 20,000 submissions and comments opposing it, prompting a withdrawal,” Mr Chester said.
“With this latest attempt, Labor has again demonstrated a failure to respect the fundamental right of Australians to free speech.”
Labor’s Misinformation Bill will compromise the free speech of Australians, including political speech and give the government regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and the Communications Minister extraordinary powers to regulate speech.
Free speech is fundamental to our democratic society and Mr Chester agreed that this is a Bill that has no place in Australia.
“Already I am getting calls, letters and emails about the Albanese Government’s planned laws,” Mr Chester said.
“People in the Gippsland region just don’t trust Mr Albanese or his Government to speak the truth on its censorship laws.
“This Bill incentivises censorship. It makes the government the ultimate arbiter of truth, and it has no place in our nation.”
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said the Bill gives digital platforms an enormous financial incentive to censor statements made by everyday Australians.
“If the Government decides that they have not censored enough ‘misinformation’, they can face large fines,” Mr Coleman said.
“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.
“Labor’s planned laws would also give the Communications Minister the powers to personally order Misinformation Investigations and Misinformation Hearings. This is wide open to abuse and an extraordinary power for a Minister to hold in a democracy.”
