Barnaby Joyce got a hard lesson of life on the cross bench, sidelined in a hard-fought cross-party agreement that will see hate crimes legislation stemming from Australia’s worst-ever terrorist attack pass the parliament.
A deal has been struck on major reforms cracking down on groups that spew hatred, despite criticism the laws will stifle legitimate political debate.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said her party had “fixed” the government’s legislation, strengthening the bill and narrowing its scope.
The laws, which have passed the House of Representatives and will go to the Senate, are designed to curb the influence of anti-Semitic hate preachers in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Fifteen people were killed in the massacre with an Islamic State-inspired father-and-son duo targeted Jews celebrating Chanukah.
Ms Ley said her party had secured a number of concessions, including tighter definitions to ensure hate preachers were properly covered by the laws and stronger oversight from parliament.
The government’s original proposal was “clumsy and deeply flawed”, she said in a statement.
“As a result of Liberal Party action, the legislation has been narrowed, strengthened and properly focused on keeping Australians safe, not political point scoring,” Ms Ley said.
The bill allows the government to essentially outlaw hardline extremist groups, which will likely apply to Neo-Nazi organisation the National Socialist Network and radical Islamist collective Hizb ut-Tahrir. The bill tightens the definition of a preacher or religious leader, introducing mandatory two-year reviews of the legislation and requiring consultation with the opposition leader when listing an extremist organisation. It will also strengthen the home affairs minister’s ability to cancel or deny a person’s visa for expressing extremist ideology.
Meanwhile, Member for New England Barnaby Joyce clearly didn’t like being left out of the negotiations and complained about how little time he had to review the legislation, but also had serious issues with the text of the bill, labelling the process ‘chaotic’.
“Today was such a missed opportunity to focus, laser like, on the scourge of antisemitism so vilely exhibited in the mass murder at Bondi Beach,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Instead, the Federal Parliament has voted for restrictions on the rights of farmers and recreational shooters and then passed a bill where a cornucopia of issues, current and in the future, were given the same gravitas as antisemitism under the mantle of “hate crimes”.
“Sadly, only seven voted against the bill.”
Those seven are not your usual bed fellows. The “not teal” but not really conservative independents from inner Sydney Dai Le, Andrew Wilke from Tasmania, and Rebekah Sharkie from region Saouth Australia, joined Queensland LNP members Llew O’Brien (from around Noosa) and Colin Boyce (from around Gladstone), North Queensland maverick Bob Katter and Mr Joyce in voting against the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026. Michael McCormack was the only member of the Nationals who vote for the legislation, with the majority of the party – including Member for Parkes, Jamie Chaffey – abstaining.
Joyce was not the only one who had concerns over the rushed legislation. Barrister Greg Barns, a former president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said the legislation could have unintended consequences.
“When you read the bill, even to senior lawyers, it’s unintelligible,” he told reporters in Canberra.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the bill wasn’t as strong as the government would have liked, but it had to be watered down to win support.
“The Australian covenant is that if people have any prejudice or hate, that’s left in the customs hall,” he told parliament.
Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan declared he would not support the bill in its current form when it comes to the upper house, but its path has been secured. Senate debate on the bill is likely to run late into Tuesday evening and the House of Representatives will return early Wednesday morning to give it the final green light.
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