Victoria’s new vilification laws: what are they and why we need them

Victoria has had a Racial and Religious Tolerance Act since 2001, which on face value, is a good thing.

But do you know how many people have been successfully prosecuted under the criminal provisions of this Act? One.

The number who have been successfully prosecuted for antisemitism under the Act? Zero.

In the face of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism in Victoria – documented in the JCCV-CSG Victorian Antisemitism Report – this seems baffling.

The news doesn’t get any better either. The one person who has been convicted under the current laws is known extremist Blair Cottrell, who in 2019 received a $2000 fine for staging and filming a mock beheading to protest the building of a mosque in Bendigo. Despite his conviction, Cottrell has continued to spread racist and antisemitic views, as well as Holocaust denial, as an investigation by The Australian found in July this year.

So not only has it been nearly impossible to secure a prosecution under the existing law, but it has failed to act as deterrent.

In 2019, in widespread acknowledgement of this point, the Victorian Parliament conducted a broad inquiry into anti-vilification laws. Early in 2021, that inquiry reported to Parliament with 36 recommendations, which the Andrews Government supported.

It has taken three and a half years, but the Government has this week introduced the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Bill 2024.