2026-02-19
The Greens strongly condemn the actions of ACT Policing in raiding Dissent Bar, a local Canberra bar, and removing anti-fascist posters and artwork, in what appears to be an alarming consequence of Labor’s rushed Federal hate speech laws.
At a time when our community should feel confident that laws are being applied carefully and proportionately, this heavy-handed response raises serious concerns about freedom of expression and the chilling impacts of hastily drafted reforms.
Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“Labor’s first scalp under their new hate laws isn’t a Nazi group, it’s a Canberra bar with an anti-fascist poster.
“Pauline Hanson can spend decades demonising Muslims in the Senate and the media but stick ‘punch a Nazi’ on your wall in Canberra and the AFP comes knocking.
“Laws rushed through parliament to fight antisemitism are now being used to attack people fighting fascism.
“These laws were never seriously about hate, they have always been about shutting down dissent.
“The Greens warned these laws would be weaponised against people who use their conscience to speak out for humanity. It took barely a month to be proven right.
Andrew Braddock, ACT Greens spokesperson for Anti-Racism and Democracy and Integrity said:
“The ACT Greens are deeply concerned that a local Canberra bar appears to have become the first target of the Albanese Government’s rushed and harmful hate speech legislation.
“Art has always played a vital role in protest and political expression. ACT hate speech laws explicitly provide space for artistic and satirical expression. However, the new federal hate speech provisions override aspects of our territory framework, which appears to be the grounds on which police have taken this action.
“This situation highlights the real-world consequences of poorly considered, fast-tracked legislation, concerns that our Federal Greens colleagues consistently raised during the parliamentary debate.
“Hate speech laws are too important to be rushed. We must draw a clear and careful distinction between genuine hate speech and satire or political commentary. If we fail to do so, we risk both allowing serious offenders to evade accountability and unfairly penalising legitimate artistic and political expression.