Tuesday, 7 June 2022

Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Bill 2022

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Ms HUTCHINS:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Ms KILKENNY (Carrum) (18:58): Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Bill 2022. I want to firstly acknowledge the speakers in this place for the really articulate and empathic contributions that we have heard today on a really difficult and challenging topic. But I especially want to acknowledge those community members, particularly those from our Jewish community, and say to them I am just so deeply sorry for the hurt and the pain and the fear that the acts of just a few have inflicted on you. I just hope that with this bill, with today’s debate, we are able to bring some level of comfort to you.

As we know, this is a bill to make the public display of the Nazi symbol a criminal offence here in Victoria, and we are doing this because sadly we have seen recently increases in the use of the Nazi symbol in Victoria. We have seen an increase in fact across Australia and across the world. It is quite frankly distressing, just disgraceful, that we are even having to have this debate to debate a bill like this in the first place, and it is concerning that acts of violence—

Business interrupted under sessional orders.