Shannon Fentiman, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, in the Queensland government, Australia, has moved legislation banning hate symbols and acknowledging the distinction between Hindu Swastika and the Nazi Hakenkreuz.
“The bill also makes it an offence to publicly display, distribute or publish a prohibited symbol in a way that could menace, harass or offend someone. The offence will carry a maximum penalty of 70 penalty units or six months imprisonment. Unlike other jurisdictions that have specified prohibited symbols in legislation, our framework will prescribe symbols by regulation. This will mean our laws will cover a broader range of hate symbols and we will be able to respond to new symbols or hate movements that may unfortunately emerge,” Fentiman said while talking about the bill that bans prohibited symbols.
However, the Attorney General laid down a procedure for determining which all symbols could be included in the list of hate symbols before the bill comes into force.
“The bill requires that before prescribing a symbol, the minister must consult with the CCC, the Queensland Human Rights Commission and the Police Service. The minister must also be satisfied that the symbol is widely known by the public or by members of a ‘relevant group’ as representing an ideology of extreme prejudice. In this case, a ‘relevant group’ is a group of people who identify with each other because of, or based on, their race, religion, sexuality, sex characteristics or gender identity. Of course, the government will also undertake extensive consultation with appropriate community and multicultural groups during the process of prescribing prohibited symbols,” she said.
The purpose of the offence is to encompass a wide range of situations. Additionally, there is a list of excuses for the offence, which is not exhaustive. These include situations where the display or distribution is for genuine artistic, religious, educational, historical, legal, or law enforcement purposes, for public interest purposes, or to oppose the ideology represented by the prohibited symbol. If a defendant is relying on an excuse, they must demonstrate that their conduct was reasonable in the given circumstances. The intention is for an excuse to be available for situations where the public display is made in books, satire, documentaries, museums, and during historical re-enactments.
Fentiman also spoke about the misappropriation of the Hindu swastika and the need to differentiate it from a hooked cross or the Nazi Hakenkreuz, which unfortunately, are often interchangeably used by the Hindumisic elements to vilify Hinduism and accuse it of drawing inspiration from the Nazi ideology and symbols.
“While the bill does not prescribe a prohibited symbol, we have announced our intention to ban symbols related to Nazi and ISIS ideology. When referring to Nazi symbols, it is important to note that the Nazi hooked cross is the correct terminology for the most widely known symbol. The hooked cross closely resembles the swastika, which has peaceful and profound meaning in some religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. I want to especially thank Ms Akashika Mohla from the Hindu Community of Australia for her advocacy on this important distinction,” The Justice Minister said.
However, with the enactment of the bill, the religious and cultural significance of the swastika is upheld. The offence will guarantee that the swastika can still be employed for religious and cultural reasons, acknowledging its vital role for Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain communities.
Queensland introduces legislation to ban hate symbols, exempts swastika after protests from Hindu organisations
The caveats in the bill were introduced after Hindu organisations and activists in Australia, including the Hindu Council of Australia, Australian Hindu Association Inc. and others, raised objections over Queensland MP Annastacia Palaszczuk’s proposal to ban ‘the public display of hate symbols such as swastikas’. After MP Palaszczuk announced the proposal, the Hindus strongly objected to it and urged the MP to change the language of the proposal.
In a social media post, the MP had written, “BREAKING: Queensland will ban the public display of hate symbols such as swastikas. We do not do this lightly or without good reason. Late last year, police seized a Nazi flag flown near a Brisbane synagogue. Only a few months earlier, a train carriage in the suburbs was graffitied with swastikas and Nazi slogans. Today I’m announcing our intention to introduce legislation to Parliament that will make it a criminal offence to display symbols promoting hatred and causing fear. These crimes are not harmless. Nor are their ideologies. They are to be called out, confronted and condemned.”
Objecting to the proposal to include Swastika in hate symbols, the Hindu Council of Australia issued a press release dated May 26. They pointed out that while the Council stands with the authorities and communities to ban the hate symbols, it “strongly opposes the prohibition or criminalisation of our ancient, auspicious and holy symbol, the Swastika.”
They further added that it was disappointing that MP referred to the Nazi symbol as Swastika and not as “Hakenkreuz” or the Hooked Cross.
“Hindu Council of Australia stands united with the Queensland Government and the Jewish community to promote the important work of fighting anti-Semitism and other racist and exclusionary ideologies and wholeheartedly supports a prohibition on the Nazi hate symbols. However, the Hindu Council of Australia strongly opposes the prohibition or criminalisation of our ancient, auspicious and holy symbol, the Swastika,” the statement said.
The Council further urged the MP to publicly clarify that prohibition would be limited to the Nazi hate symbol ‘Hakenkreuz’ and NOT the holy Swastika. It also urged adding an exemption to the prohibition by the Queensland Parliament for the use of the Swastika as a cultural and religious symbol.
