United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet has announced a new push to to enshrine free speech in the Australian Constitution in response to draconian new laws passed in response to the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack.
Mr Babet, who has gathered more than 11,000 signatures so far on an online petition opposing the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, said on Wednesday he would move a motion to begin debate on his free speech bill, which he first introduced in February last year.
“I shall move-That the Senates notes that the people of Australia deserve the right via referendum to decide if our constitution should be amended to ensure that the Commonwealth or a State must not make any law that limited the freedom of speech, including freedom of the press and other media,” his notice of motion reads.
I have a bill before the Senate that would trigger a referendum to let the Australian people decide whether to enshrine free speech in our Constitution.
This afternoon I will move a motion to begin debate in the Senate. The wording is attached.
If you support free speech, sign… pic.twitter.com/ae9NOIzd0S
— Senator Babet (@senatorbabet) March 5, 2026
His Constitution Alteration (Right to Free Speech) Bill would add an amendment titled Freedom of Speech that reads: “The Commonwealth or a State must not make any law that limits the freedom of speech, including freedom of the press and other media.”
The new federal “hate speech” and “hate groups” laws, introduced by the Labor government and passed following a deal with the Coalition, have been criticised by legal experts and civil liberties groups, and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has also vowed to repeal them, along with all similar legislation.
Mr Babet also opposed the laws, voted against them, and has regularly spoken out against a series of “hate speech” laws passed at Commonwealth and state level over the past two years, and criticised government efforts to censor the internet.
In his petition he called the latest bill a “rushed piece of legislation that the government intends to force through both houses of parliament in just two days”.
“This bill represents a dangerous shift in Australian law. Its stated aim is to combat hatred and extremism, yet it expands the power of the state to regulate speech, opinions, and beliefs,” he wrote.
“Laws that blur the line between genuine extremism and expression undermine the very freedoms they claim to protect.
“History shows that when governments are empowered to decide which ideas are acceptable, those powers are inevitably used beyond their original purpose. Vague definitions of ‘hate’ and ‘extremism’ invite politicised enforcement, selective prosecution, and the silencing of lawful dissent.
“Once speech is regulated, it is never the powerful who are censored first, it is critics and political opponents. A free society does not require enforced agreement. It requires open debate, robust disagreement, and the freedom to challenge prevailing orthodoxies without fear of punishment.”
Header image: Left, right, Ralph Babet (Facebook).
