Liberal-National Coalition Mends Rift Over Hate Speech Laws in Australia
“The Coalition is back together and looking to the future, not to the past,” Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley said, appearing alongside National Party leader David Littleproud in Canberra.
The rift began on January 22, after the Nationals, citing concerns over free speech, refused to support reforms introduced by the government following a December attack by two gunmen at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
"It's been disappointing, we've got to where we are, but it was over a substantive issue," Littleproud said.
The Coalition had already suffered a major election defeat last year, and this split was the second within 12 months.
A previous separation in May 2025, largely over climate and energy policies, was resolved within a week.
This latest division arose over hate-speech reforms brought forward by the centre-left Labor government in response to the Bondi Beach tragedy. While the Liberals supported the legislation, the Nationals abstained in the lower house and opposed it in the Senate, arguing the measures were rushed and threatened free speech. The reforms include bans on groups deemed to spread hate and tougher penalties for preachers advocating violence.
Ley stressed the coalition’s responsibility to unite and prepare for a return to government:
"I acknowledge this has been a difficult time. It has been a difficult time for millions of our Coalition supporters, and many other Australians who rely on our two great parties to provide scrutiny and leadership," she said.
She also said the two parties agreed that no single party could override decisions made by the coalition’s joint “shadow cabinet.”
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