I have been inundated over the past few months, with concerns from local residents over Labor’s proposed Misinformation Bill.
So many of you are worried – and rightly so – over the impact this will have on the curtailing of free speech and the general nature of debate in the public realm, going forward.
For those who are unaware, the law would see the Government empower tech companies and online platforms to remove content it has deemed as ‘misinformation’, under the threat of substantial fines, if it is deemed that they are not taking adequate steps to remove said content.
‘Misinformation’ could include any political or general statement, made by everyday Australians, including deeply held matters of opinion.
Any authorised Government content can never be defined as ‘misinformation’, but criticism of this content could be deemed as such.
The Government would also be free to exempt websites of their choosing from the proposed law.
Additionally, there is no requirement that a person making a statement, which is deemed as ‘misinformation’, needed to know that statement was false, even if they were not trying to mislead others.
Finally, if you are thought to have made statements which could be ‘misinformation’, government officials could compel you to appear before them and be questioned, or face fines for non-attendance.
Academics, civil liberty organisations, legal, religious and human rights groups, along with some online platforms, have publicly expressed their deep concerns over this Bill and the potential of it to stifle free speech and political debate.
The Coalition is vehemently opposed to the proposed laws.
In response, a website and petition page called Bin the Bill has been created, in an effort to rally public support around this incredibly significant issue.
People who sign up at the site will be kept up to date on developments on our campaign on this issue.
Our primary message is that Australians have a right to freedom of speech.
We want people to be able to voice their opposition, because it is their free speech that is under threat.
If you are interested, you can sign the petition at binthebill.au
