Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill 2024

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:29): 

I rise today to speak on the Summary Offences (Terrorist Organisation Symbols) Amendment Bill 2024. This bill would make two key changes to the Summary Offences Act, introducing offences for publishing or displaying a prescribed terrorist symbol unless it is for legitimate public purposes. This follows on from the legislation that passed in this parliament last year in 2024, which prohibits the use of the Nazi salute or Nazi symbols in South Australia. The bill before us today extends a similar prohibition to any symbol commonly associated with a prescribed terrorist organisation, as specified by the Commonwealth Criminal Code or prescribed by regulations.

Further, the bill introduces an offence for damaging, destroying, defacing or desecrating the national flag of Australia or any other country and any other flag prescribed by the regulations, including an image of a prescribed flag. I spoke in support of the Summary Offences (Nazi Salute and Symbols Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2024 and was privileged to serve with other members of the Legislative Council on a select committee which considered whether legislation was required to ban Neo-Nazi symbols in South Australia. The committee heard from many community leaders and stakeholders, who strongly advocated that such legislation was needed to address the increasing trend of antisemitism and far-right extremism in our society.

I am pleased that the work of the select committee was able to inform the development of the Nazi salute and symbols prohibition bill to balance a prohibition without improperly impinging on legitimate displays of Nazi symbols for educational and academic purposes nor upon the cultural or religious use of symbols that may be mistaken for Nazi symbols.

I note that the Hon. Frank Pangallo's bill is closely modelled on that piece of legislation and includes similar safeguards for the publication of a terrorist symbol for legitimate public purposes, such as genuine academic, artistic, religious, cultural or educational purposes. The bill would enable a police officer to direct a person to remove a prescribed terrorist symbol from display, and failure to comply with such a direction is an offence with a maximum penalty of $5,000.

It also goes further, including a provision for a police officer to confiscate any item that contravenes the prohibition. I am unclear at this stage whether this power to confiscate items that display a prescribed terrorist symbol is enlivened only after a direction to remove the symbol from display has been ignored or refused.

I agree with other members, from the Labor government, opposition and the Hon. Robert Simms in stating that the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill did pass the commonwealth parliament in 2023, which establishes criminal offences for the public display of prohibited Nazi and terrorist organisation symbols. I agree with the Hon. Frank Pangallo in his arguments that the burning of the national flag is deeply disrespectful and can be frightening or threatening. For myself and, I believe, many in our community, the act of burning a national flag crosses the line into an aggressive act that can no longer be considered a peaceful form of protest.

I just want to share my sentiments with the other members. I will not oppose the bill in this place and would like to see further development in the House of Assembly when it is dealt with by government when they have more resources to research into the matter and provide us with an evidence-based approach to handling the bill in further stages.