Comment on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-Vilification and Social Cohesion) Bill 2024 (Vic)

Liberty Victoria does not support the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-Vilification and Social Cohesion) Bill 2024 (Vic) (the Bill) in its current form. While we support some aspects of the Bill and recognise the need to protect vulnerable people from hate speech, in our view the Bill does not get the balance right and could have a serious impact on freedom of expression and legitimate protest. We also oppose the Bill's weakening of the threshold for criminal offences.