Fighting the ‘1984’ Bill

Do we want a Government department to have the power to impose civil and criminal penalties on users of the internet if they publish something that the Government doesn’t like?

That is what the Communications Legislation Amendment (Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 (The Misinformation Bill) would allow, and we think it proposes an unacceptable and contemptible breach of the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

This is particularly worrying given that the Bill does not at all consider the rights of children, even though children make up one third of all users on the internet. The internet also forms an important part of educational curriculums all around the country. Concerningly, the Bill doesn’t clarify that children will not be subjected to the huge civil and criminal penalties that the Bill proposes.

What can you do?

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is currently seeking our feedback on the Misinformation Bill. So, let’s give it to them. If you are opposed to this Bill, go ahead and have your say here.

CHD AU has drafted a detailed submission critiquing the Bill. You can read that submission here. Please share the submission around to educate the public about the Bill. You can also use the submission as a guide to create your own – although your submission does not need to be detailed.

The main goal is to show the Department, and the Federal Government generally, that Australians will not accept such a brazen imposition on our fundamental human rights, which that Government has covenanted into protecting. We can do that by making as many submissions as possible. Make sure you make your submission before the deadline on 20 August 2023.

Peter Fam, Director of CHD AU and human rights lawyer can be contacted for comment via [email protected]