The Proposed Bill Would Violate Freedom of Speech

Lawyer Justin Quill said the proposed law was “the biggest imposition on free speech that I’ve ever seen in a piece of legislation”. Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – said the law would have a “chilling effect on free speech.”

Freedom of speech is a fundamental and non-negotiable human right.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right of every Australian. It is the role of the Commonwealth of Australia to recognise that fact and to protect the freedoms that every Australian already possesses.

Australia is a founding member of the United Nations and an original signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 18 of that declaration reads:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19 takes this right even further:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

In short, the passage of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 would put the Commonwealth of Australia in breach of its international human rights obligations and at odds with its own nation’s character and values. This is a threshold Australia must not pass.

Voice Your Concerns

We strongly encourage you to make a submission to voice your concerns about this terrible piece of legislation. George Orwell, the author of 1984, made this sombre warning which must be heard:

“If you encourage totalitarian methods, the time will come when they will be used against you instead of for you.”

George Washington once said,

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

Canberra Declaration has already made its own submission on the proposed bill, which you can view here. You may like to read it to help you with your own submission, as well as these published Daily Declaration articles that explain:

• Why the bill is dangerous to free speech and will cause great harm.
• Why it is completely unnecessary.
• Why it will lead us on a path to totalitarianism.
• Why it will be an abysmal failure and silence an organisation like ours.

The following video takes you through how to make a submission. It also explains why the proposed bill will be incredibly damaging.