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RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS HATRED BILL 2003 [NO. 2]

2002-2003

The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia

THE SENATE




Presented and read a first time






Racial and Religious Hatred Bill 2003

No. , 2003

(Senator Ludwig)



A Bill for an Act to amend the Crimes Act 1914, and for related purposes

Contents

Part IVA—Offences based on racial and religious hatred 2

A Bill for an Act to amend the Crimes Act 1914, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2003.

2 Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3 Schedule

The Crimes Act 1914 is amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Crimes Act 1914

1 After Part IV

Insert:

Part IVA—Offences based on racial and religious hatred

57 Reason for doing an act

If:

(a) an act is done for 2 or more reasons;

(b) one of the reasons is the race, colour, religion, or national or ethnic origin of a person; and

(c) that reason is a substantial reason (whether or not it is the dominant reason) for doing the act;

then, for the purposes of this Part, the act is taken to be done because of the person’s race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin.

58 Prohibition of threats to cause physical harm because of race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin

A person must not threaten to cause physical harm to another person or a group because of the race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

59 Prohibition of threats to property because of race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin

A person must not threaten to destroy or damage property (other than property belonging to the person) because of the race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin of any other person or any group of persons.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year.

60 Prohibition of incitement of racial hatred because of race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin

(1) A person must not, with the intention of inciting racial hatred against another person or a group of people, do an act, otherwise than in private, if the act:

(a) is reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to incite racial hatred against the other person or group of people; and

(b) is done because of the race, colour, religion or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 1 year.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an act is taken not to be done in private if it:

(a) causes words, sounds, images or writing to be communicated to the public; or

(b) is done in a public place; or

(c) is done in the sight or hearing of people who are in a public place.

(3) In this section:

public place includes any place to which the public have access as a right or by invitation, whether express or implied and whether or not a charge is made for admission to the place.

61 State and Territory laws not affected

This part is not intended to exclude or limit the concurrent operation of any law of a State or Territory.

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