The War on Free Speech Has Begun

Nation First reflects on the "Hate Crimes" Bill becoming law.

Dear friend,

They did it. In just a matter of days—without scrutiny, without real debate, and without a single care for the consequences—Australia’s political establishment has rammed through the most dangerous anti-free speech law in our nation’s history.

Make no mistake: this is not about stopping terrorism. It is not about protecting people from violence. This is about silencing dissent, crushing conservative and Christian voices, and weaponising the law against anyone who dares to challenge the establishment’s agenda.

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• The Australian government swiftly passed a controversial “hate speech” law, ignoring warnings from legal and religious groups.

• The law shifts from requiring intent to incite violence to merely being “reckless,” raising concerns over its potential misuse.

• Christian schools fear religious teachings could be criminalised, while critics argue the law will silence conservative voices.

• The bill was backed by both major parties, with conservatives accused of enabling its harsh provisions.

• Free speech advocates warn of increasing authoritarianism and urge Australians to resist and push for the law’s repeal.

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This bill was not carefully considered. It wasn’t properly reviewed. The Senate passed it in just one hour.

One hour. That’s all it took for the Senate to pass this bill. That’s all they needed to obliterate one of the most fundamental rights in a free society—your right to speak your mind.

The Senate spent more time debating Donald Trump than they did this bill. They ignored the Law Council’s warnings. They ignored Christian groups’ concerns. They ignored free speech advocates. Because they didn’t want debate. They wanted control.

Senator Ralph Babet, one of the few who voted against this, warned that the bill was rushed through with barely any discussion and was “vague, poorly designed, and wide open for abuse by the radical left to criminally target those they disagree with.”

Senator Matthew Canavan tried to intervene to have the application of the bill restricted to just incitement to physical violence but his push was rejected. Why? What other kind of violence is there? That tells you everything you need to know about this bill.

Sky News commentator Caleb Bond called out just how extreme this law is. Under the new legislation, a person can face jail time simply for being “reckless” with their words.

Previously, incitement laws required intent—you had to actually mean to cause harm. Not anymore. The law has now changed from “intentionally urges” to merely “advocates” violence. And intent has been replaced with recklessness—meaning you don’t even have to mean it, you just have to be careless enough that someone thinks it could lead to violence.

Bond warned, “You could say something perhaps jokingly, not meaning that it will happen, but if you are reckless to the fact that it could happen, you have by the law now incited violence.”

Senator Gerard Rennick condemned the bill as “a direct attack on free speech,” warning that it “threatens freedom of speech by allowing the government to censor or punish individuals for expressing opinions that might be deemed offensive.” He pointed out that such laws are always applied selectively, noting, “Instead of combating hate, these laws can be weaponised to silence dissent and suppress unpopular viewpoints, ultimately undermining democratic values and individual liberties.”

Even Christian schools, which for years have tried to avoid political fights, are now realising this law will be weaponised against them. The Australian Association of Christian Schools has warned that the bill’s broad definitions could criminalise religious teachings on sex and gender.

Vanessa Cheng, the association’s executive officer, said, “There is a real risk that the broad definitions and expanded list of attributes could criminalise religious teachings on sex or gender, which could be considered ‘hateful’ or ‘harmful’ by some people.”

Christian Schools Australia raised similar concerns, saying, “CSA calls on the parliament to consider the unintended consequences of this bill, specifically the possible criminalisation of religious speech (such as our Biblical teachings on sex and gender) within our schools.”

This should terrify anyone who values religious freedom. The LGBT agenda is now legally protected—Christianity is not.

The biggest betrayal in all of this? The supposed “conservative” Liberal Party. Not only did the Liberals back the bill, but they actually pushed for even harsher laws than Labor originally proposed. It was the Liberals that demanded mandatory sentencing be included—a move that even the Law Council of Australia condemned as reckless, unjust, and a violation of judicial independence. Liberal MP Andrew Hastie—who voted for the bill—opposed the mandatory sentencing amendment, warning that it should be judges, not politicians, deciding punishment. That tells you something. Even some of the people who voted for this knew parts of it were dangerously flawed.

The Liberals think they’ve just passed a law to crack down on radical Islamists. But they’ve actually given Labor, the activist class, and the courts a tool to silence anyone who opposes their radical progressive agenda. They won’t use these laws against Islamists. They’ll use them against you.

If you thought this was just about stopping terrorism, think again. Teal MP Allegra Spender backed the bill on the basis that we needed to criminalise banners that read “Destroy Paedo Freaks.” Yes, really. She argued that people who hold up signs opposing paedophiles should be punished under hate speech laws. What does that tell you? Who exactly are they trying to protect? This is the same political class that calls conservatives “extremists” for defending traditional values, yet wants to make it illegal to call out paedophiles.

Just before this bill was rammed through Parliament, X (formerly Twitter) suspended a wave of ultra-nationalist and far right-wing accounts in Australia. While these figures were fringe extremists, the timing is undeniable—a mass censorship event occurred right before the most sweeping speech laws in Australian history were passed. This wasn’t about stopping genuine hate; it was about setting a precedent for silencing dissent.

On their X account, CitizenGO Australia pointed out that the new law wasn’t about tackling terrorism but rather containing the rise of the New Australian Right. Not the neo-Nazis or fringe figures the media fixates on, but the growing number of Australians rejecting mass migration, defending national sovereignty, standing against climate hysteria, and upholding pro-life values and the nuclear family. That’s who this bill will be used against.

We’ve seen what happens in the UK. A mother was arrested while cooking chicken dinner for alleged mean tweets. A man was dragged out of his house and jailed for posting a meme. A teenager was arrested for sharing an offensive joke. That’s what’s coming to Australia. All it takes is one activist cop, one activist judge, one “offended” leftist who decides your words were reckless and could incite violence—and you’re a criminal.

They think they’ve won. They think they’ve silenced opposition forever. But, as the UK examples above show, laws like this always get misused. Some of the MPs who voted for it may genuinely believe they were only targeting extremists who are directly calling for violence—you know, issuing fatwas and jihads on the infidel—but the reality is the law won’t stop there (and may not even land there). When conservative activists, religious leaders, and ordinary Australians start being prosecuted under this law for nothing more than expressing their beliefs, the reality will hit.

That will be the moment to pounce—to demand this law be repealed. The question is: will that be too late for Australia?

Australians who believe in free speech must be ready. They must call out every abuse of this law and expose every instance where it is weaponised against ordinary citizens. This is the time to build momentum, to push back against creeping authoritarianism, and to ensure that when the consequences become undeniable, the demand for repeal will be impossible to ignore.

The establishment is counting on you being afraid. Don’t be. Share this article. Spread the word. Stay vigilant. Because once free speech is gone, we may never get it back.

Until next time, God bless you, your family and nation.

Take care,

George Christensen

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George Christensen is a former Australian politician, a Christian, freedom lover, conservative, blogger, podcaster, journalist and theologian. He has been feted by the Epoch Times as a “champion of human rights” and his writings have been praised by Infowars’ Alex Jones as “excellent and informative”.

George believes Nation First will be an essential part of the ongoing fight for freedom:

“The time is now for every proud patriot to step to the fore and fight for our freedom, sovereignty and way of life. Information is a key tool in any battle and the Nation First newsletter will be a valuable tool in the battle for the future of the West.”

— George Christensen.

Find more about George at his www.georgechristensen.com.au website.

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Authorised by G. Christensen, River Street, Mackay