Labor’s MaD bill collapses, independent senators reject unlawful censorship

By Rebekah Barnett

In what looks set to be a win for free speech Down Under, critical support from independent senators for the Australian Government’s controversial misinformation bill has collapsed completely.

The Labor Government needed votes from four out of seven independents to pass the bill, but as of today, every single one of the seven independent senators on the crossbench has declared their opposition to the bill.

Formerly undecided Senator Lidia Thorpe today stated her intention to vote against it, due to concerns that “white-dominated institutions” would regulate what constitutes truth, which would would “further erase, suppress and misrepresent First Nations narratives and activism.”

Senator David Van appears to have been swayed by public and/or peer pressure, changing his stance from for to against the bill. In Parliament today, Senator Van said that “at first glance, the bill seemed to be a reasonable approach to tackle harmful content on platforms,” but that on further examination, “there are such significant defects in the bill that means it should not pass as drafted.”

It looks as though a meeting with American free speech activist Michael Shellenberger, who is in Australia at the moment, also had something to do with Senator Van’s change of heart.

Source: Michael Shellenberger on X

The other five crossbenchers (Senators Pocock, Tyrrell, Payne, Lambie and Rennick) had already declared their opposition to the bill, effectively blocking it from passing provided they vote accordingly. Today’s additional declarations only widen the margin of loss for the government.

Katrina Lane, Chief Operations Officer of community action group the Aligned Council of Australia (ACA), said that the ACA is “absolutely delighted to see Democracy in action.”

“The people have spoken, and senators have listened. Australians say no to censorship.”

The ACA, which represents nearly two million Australians, has run an effective campaign against the misinformation bill this year, and has collected nearly 60,000 signatures on petitions opposing the bill.

The government will now either need to significantly alter the misinformation bill in line with demands from the independent senators, or apply such pressure that the majority of them either change their minds or don’t show up for the vote. Short of a miracle, these scenarios are unlikely.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill next Monday, but it’s possible that the government will withdraw the bill to avoid the loss. It’s also possible that lobbyists are currently working very hard at turning this around.

It’s not over til it’s over, but the chance of this going the government’s way is very slim.

If you are the type take out insurance, a last round of calls and emails to senators is advisable. It would still be good to get a guarantee from the Greens that they will oppose the bill. Even with the support of the Greens, the government can’t pass the bill without support from the crossbench, but opposition from the Greens would send a strong message of rejection.

Also, don’t forget to send messages of support to senators who have stated their opposition to the bill.

Greens senators’ contact information can be found here.

Independent senators contact information can be found here.

All Australian senators can be searched by postcode here.

Resources such as templates for letter-writing, sign-making and social media tiles can be found via the Aligned Council of Australia website.