QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE › Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Masjidain on 15 March 2019
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Finance, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:45): As I indicated in response to the primary question, we will work very closely with the New Zealand government in understanding all aspects of the report, and all aspects of the actions and implementation arrangements that New Zealand takes in relation to this report. In doing so, we'll be thorough in our assessment. The PRESIDENT: Order. Senator Faruqi on a point of order. Senator Faruqi: My point of order is to relevance. I asked a very specific question about hate speech laws and will the government actually change the laws to stamp out hate speech? The PRESIDENT: The question contained a preamble to that specific part at the end, Senator Faruqi. I will listen carefully but I believe the minister was being directly relevant. Senator BIRMINGHAM: Senator Faruqi, from my recollection, your question asked about recommendations in the report that went to matters of hate speech, and associated laws and regulations. So when I say that we will examine the report carefully, that we will work with New Zealand, that we will seek to understand the action they take in relation to implementation of recommendations, we will assess all of that against ensuring we have the strongest possible preventions, protections and disruptions available to ensure all forms of terrorism are prevented as much as possible. (Time expired)