Australia passed anti-hate crime laws that include minimum sentences for displaying hate symbols like the Nazi salute. It comes as acts of antisemitism are on the rise in Australia.
Australia’s parliament passed an amendment to its anti-hate crimes law on Thursday that expands protections for certain groups.
It also imposes minimum jail sentences for terror crimes and the display of hate symbols like the Nazi swastika.
The mandatory minimum sentences range from 12 months for less serious hate crimes, such as giving a Nazi salute in public, to six years for those found guilty of terrorism offenses.
The Hate Crimes law includes bans on threatening force or violence against people on the basis of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things.
Acts of antisemitism on the rise in Australia
Like other parts of the world, the country has seen a surge of attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars of Jewish community members across the country in recent months.
These include an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne in December and the discovery of a caravan laden with explosives with a list of Jewish targets in Sydney.
“We want people who are engaged in antisemitic activities to be caught, to be charged and put in the clink. That’s my priority,” Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after the law was passed on Thursday.
Mandatory sentencing controversial
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the changes were the “toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.”
Albanese’s Labor government traditionally opposes mandatory minimum sentences but voted on Thursday in favor of the bill.
Mandatory sentencing in Australia has been strongly criticized for the disproportionate effects it has on its Indigenous population and on young people.
But Albanese, who faces a federal election within the next few months, is under growing pressure to address growing antisemitism.
