Australia-style extremism laws should be considered in UK, MPs demand

Australia-style extremism laws should be considered in UK, MPs demand EXCLUSIVE: Ministers have been urged to look at measures put forward in Australia after the antisemitic Bondi beach attack in December, including aggravated hate speech laws and increased penalties for promoting violence The UK should consider following Australia's lead with tough new laws to tackle extremism, MPs including a former Labour chair have demanded. Ministers have been urged to look at Australia's response to the antisemitic Bondi beach attack, which claimed 15 innocent lives in December. Measures put forward Down Under include creating an aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders, increased penalties for promoting violence and greater powers for courts to tackle online harassment. A report by the all-party group (APPG) on counter extremism, seen by The Mirror, said dangerous radicals are currently given a "green light" to operate. It said a whole-of-society approach is needed to counter them, and that the government must be more ambitious in getting local communities to step up. It also called for a clampdown on 'lawful but harmful' content - such as depictions of serious violence, abuse and harassment - which experts say platforms are actively promoting for cash. It pointed to concerns raised in the Southport Inquiry into the senseless murder of three young girls by violence-obsessed teen Axel Rudakubana. MPs called for a specialist unit to be set up inside the Cabinet Office to co-ordinate counter extremism measures across government departments. The group's vice chair Anneliese Dodds, who chaired the Labour Party from 2021 to 2024, said: "Across democratic societies we are seeing the impact of extremism, disinformation, polarisation and declining trust in institutions. Meeting these challenges requires serious, evidence-based policymaking and a commitment to bringing people together around our shared democratic values.” The APPG report said the law must be as firm on homegrown extremists as it is foreign state threats - saying measures announced in the King's Speech must go further. Referencing Australia's response to the harrowing Bondi beach attack, carried out by an ISIS-inspired gunman, it said: "The Australian Government is introducing legislation following the Bondi antisemitic terror shooting, that will outlaw and proscribe hate groups that currently fall short of the threshold of terrorism. "The government’s announcement of a new State Threats Designation Power and the proposed Tackling State Threats Bill, announced in the King’s Speech, will help disrupt and deter foreign state and proxy organisations in carrying out hostile activity against the UK - this is welcome, but equally robust action is needed against domestic extremist actors who continue to be given a green light to operate." And it criticised the government's current counter-extremism plans for not doing enough to counter dangerous narratives and conspiracy theories. The document states: "There is little mention of empowering local communities and civic society to stand up and challenge extremism. This is vital in building resilient communities." It said the Online Safety Act does not outlaw the "eye-watering scale of dangerous 'lawful but harmful' extremist content". It said the Southport murders - which saw Rudakubana attack a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024 - highlighted the dangers this poses. The report stated: "Online content that falls under the category of ‘legal but harmful’ requires greater focus as identified recently in phase 1 of the Southport Inquiry." The APPG report said there must be more focus on social cohesion, as well as dedicated policies to tackle AI-enabled extremism. And collaboration with international allies must be strengthened, it added. Labour MP Damien Egan, who chairs the group, said: " Extremism is no longer confined to the fringes of society. It is increasingly fuelled by disinformation, conspiracy theories, online radicalisation, foreign interference, community tensions and declining trust in institutions. Together, these challenges create a more complex threat to social cohesion and democratic resilience that cannot be addressed through siloed approaches. "The UK needs a more ambitious response — one that is not only cross-party, but whole-of-society." The Home Office has been contacted for comment.