Criminal Code Amendment (Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes) Bill 2024
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (09:17): I rise to speak on the Criminal Code Amendment (Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes) Bill 2024. The coalition does not support the bill. Let me take the Senate through the reasons as to why.
In technical terms, what the bill will do, if it was passed through the Senate, is remove what is a longstanding feature of our common law where the Attorney-General of Australia, as Australia's first law officer, must consent to the prosecution of certain serious crimes. These are crimes of the highest order, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As I said, these are serious crimes. As with other offences, the decision to initiate a prosecution for any such offence would, of course, be made independently either by the DPP or by a person seeking to commence a private prosecution. Given the serious nature of these crimes, almost invariably, however, these crimes raise important considerations relevant to Australia's national security, foreign relations and matters of international law that govern the actions of nation states.
Therefore, legal proceedings in respect of these alleged offences may directly impact the interests of all Australians. It is therefore entirely appropriate that the executive government, through the Attorney-General, have the opportunity to consider the impact of any such prosecution on the national security and foreign relations interests of all Australians.
That is what this bill seeks to remove. So everything I just said in relation to— Senator Thorpe: Bullshit! That's bullshit— Senator CASH: the seriousness of this bill— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, can I call you to order.
This matter will probably go into committee and, therefore, you will have another opportunity to prosecute your arguments. Senator CASH: It is one thing to talk to a bill in this Senate. It is another thing to properly scrutinise what the contents of the bill will do as opposed to the arguments that may be put forward by the person who is putting forward the bill.
That is what the coalition has done. We have looked at the bill. We have analysed each section of the bill, and the reason we are not supporting it is because of what it does.
As I said, put simply, the bill that we have before us—in other words, the legislation as drafted and the effect of the legislation, should it pass through this place—is, quite frankly, an attempt to further open up our courts to abuse by activists who engage in lawfare to pursue a political agenda. Senator Thorpe and the Greens want to allow activists to use our courts to commence private prosecutions for some of the most serious crimes on our statute book.
Those crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. This is what this bill actually does. Senator Thorpe and the Greens want to allow activists to use our courts to commence private prosecutions for some of the most serious crimes on our statute book, and they want this to occur without oversight.
This is what the legislation does. They want to remove the important safeguard and the longstanding feature of our common law that allows the national security and foreign relation interests of all Australians—not just a few Australians—to be taken into account. Instead, what this bill would do, if passed on behalf of Senator Thorpe and the Australian Greens, is put Australians' interests second.
They want to give primacy to the narrow, sectional interests of their political supporters and, in particular, given the nature of the serious crimes that we are referring to— Senator Thorpe: What an insult! Cash, what an insult! The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, please!
I have given you a reasonable amount of latitude. Let Senator Cash finish. Senator Cash, please resume.
Senator CASH: What this bill would do, if passed—and I am talking to the bill as drafted as opposed to merely making a statement—is put the interests of all Australians, in relation to these serious crimes, second. What it would do is give primacy to the narrow, sectional interests of supporters of Senator Thorpe and the Australian Greens. Senator Thorpe: Fearmongering.
Racist bullshit. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, Senator McKenzie? Senator McKenzie: On a point of order.
Senator Thorpe has continually sworn in this chamber, and I would ask you to seek her to withdraw the swearwords. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, please— Senator Thorpe: I withdraw. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you.
Senator Cash, please resume. Senator CASH: I would say that when this speech is, potentially, looked at by others they will see that the constant interjections by the mover of this bill, in relation to my speech on behalf of the coalition addressing the legislation that is before the Senate, prove the point of why the coalition will not be supporting this piece of legislation.
We will not support a bill that puts the interests of all Australian citizens second to the interests of a narrow, sectional group of political supporters of Senator Thorpe and the Australian Greens. All this bill does is ensure that the courts are able to be used as a forum to make political points about events overseas or in Australia's past and make accusations about genocide or war crimes in order to advance nothing more and nothing less than a political narrative.
This immature—as we've seen on display today; the Hansard will reflect this—shouty, undergraduate and childish approach exploits and devalues what are extremely grave offences that relate to some of the most serious crimes imaginable. As I said, the crimes that we are referring to are genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, some of the most serious crimes imaginable.
The legislation and statements made by Senator Thorpe in her address to the Senate and, more than that, her display during the speech that I gave yet again confirm that this bill is nothing more and nothing less than a vehicle for political activists to get into our court, to put the interests of the Australian people second to their own—nothing more and nothing less.
Unfortunately, based on the last three years in this place, sadly, it is exactly what we've come to expect from the extreme radical Greens and their allies. Given this, literally, will be the last sitting day of the Senate of this parliament, I'll close my speech by saying this to all Australians: God help Australia if those radical left-wing ideologues are holding the Prime Minister's puppet strings in a Labor minority government after the election.
God help Australia!