Allan’s antisemitism plan promises to crack down on social media and boost protest laws

Social media giants could be sued for allowing anonymous hate speech and police will be granted new powers to shut down protests after terrorist attacks, under proposed laws to protect Jewish Victorians.

Premier Jacinta Allan unveiled a five-point plan on Monday to combat antisemitism in response to the Bondi terror attack that claimed 15 lives, including a move to mirror emergency protest laws proposed in NSW.

“As a government, we feel a profound sense of duty to stand with the Jewish community in its darkest hour. We are acting to stop hate and antisemitism everywhere,” Allan said.

“Stronger hate laws, stopping protests after terror, action on guns, preventing extremism early – these protections support the Jewish community and our way of life. They belong to every Victorian and keep everyone safe.”

Under existing laws set to come into effect in 2026, individuals and organisations may bring a civil claim against a Victorian if they believe they have been vilified by someone’s words or actions, but that person must be identifiable.

On Monday, Allan said the government would go a step further, pledging to introduce new laws holding social media companies to account for vilification, with an eminent jurist to be appointed to oversee the drafting of the legislation.

The premier said she would also take existing anti-vilification laws back before parliament to remove the current requirement that the director of public prosecutions consent before a charge of criminal vilification is laid by police.

The Coalition earlier this year refused to support the government’s proposed anti-vilification laws – despite being urged to do so by Jewish groups – over a provision which required the vilification to be judged from the perspective of a person with the protected attribute.

This deadlock forced Labor to negotiate instead with the Greens, who secured an amendment requiring the DPP to approve any legal proceedings.

“The anti-vilification laws that passed through the Victorian parliament earlier this year are already Australia’s strongest, and our proposals today will make them even stronger,” Allan said on Monday.

Under the second stage of the government’s plan, police will be given special powers to stop or move on a protest if it falls within a certain time after a designated terrorist event.

The premier said the proposed laws would be similar to those set to be introduced in NSW, which would give the police commissioner the power to ban the authorisation of protests in designated areas for up to three months after a terrorist attack.

Because Victoria does not require protesters to gain police authorisation through a permit system, the proposed legislation would ultimately differ from the NSW model.

The Victorian solicitor-general is set to complete advice on the new laws in January, and Allan has resisted calls to recall parliament before it resumes in February to push through the changes.

The premier committed to a review of Victoria’s gun laws to ensure they meet modern challenges, to be undertaken by former police commissioner Ken Lay, as the third step of her plan.

Under her fourth step, the premier released the government’s strategy for preventing and countering violent extremism and pledged to appoint a commissioner to implement its findings. The strategy will focus on preventing extremism at a community level.

Finally, Allan said her government would be accountable for a “pathway to normal” that sets long-term goals for driving out antisemitism.

In a joint statement, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and Zionism Victoria welcomed the announcement, calling for the proposed laws to be introduced without delay.

“Antisemitism has gone unchecked for too long. It is our firm hope that the measures announced today will make Victoria safer for Jewish people,” it read.

“These measures will strengthen the legal framework that holds those who perpetrate antisemitism to account.”

But Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said Allan’s plan had failed to deliver the urgent and decisive action needed to combat hate and antisemitism.

On Monday, Wilson released her own plan to combat antisemitism, including a ban on protests after terrorists attacks and a protest permit system, and an expansion of bans on speech which “exhort listeners to violence” – such as “Globalise the intifada” chants.

The opposition’s proposal would also amend university legislation to enforce stricter disciplinary protocols for students and staff who engage in conduct that incites hatred, and would withdraw government funding from organisations that “engage in vilification”.

“For the sake of the safety and livelihoods of all Victorians, I call on Premier Allan to recall the parliament next week so we can work together to take immediate action to stop the hate,” Wilson said.

Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush has previously rejected the need for a protest permit system and on Monday said his views on that had not changed.

However, he said he was interested in the idea of a police veto power to intercede against protests “where they’re not appropriate”.

On Monday evening, about 100 people met on the steps of the state parliament for an Anti-Zionism Australia event after initial plans for a Saturday gathering sparked outrage.

Speaking to the crowd, organiser David Glanz said: “We need to acknowledge that something like 5000 Bondi massacres have taken place in Gaza in the last 26 months. And it would be hypocrisy, racist hypocrisy, to mourn for the dead of Bondi and to say nothing of the dead of Rafa city or Gaza City, and the rest of the Gaza Strip.”

Glanz also criticised what he said was the politicisation of the Bondi shooting, saying, “The way that the ghouls of the far right jumped in before the blood was dry, before the funerals were held, to demand that there be a ban on migrants, and especially migrants … meaning Muslim migrants”, was shocking.

He said it was “absolute nonsense” for anti-Zionists to be labelled antisemitic, telling the crowd, “They are scraping the bottom of the barrel when they go for that argument.”

The government’s antisemitism plan came as Victoria Police announced heavily armed specialist officers would patrol this year’s Boxing Day Test at the MCG as security is stepped up at public events around the country following the Bondi terror attack.

Bush acknowledged it would be unusual for Melburnians to see the critical incident response team carrying long-arm semiautomatic rifles at the cricket ground. But he stressed it was an important proactive move in response to “the current threat environment”, though there had been no new specific threat to the event itself.

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