Victoria has passed new laws cracking down on hate speech, including a so-called “Sam Kerr clause” to prevent the laws being weaponised against their intended purpose.
The “anti-vilification and social cohesion” bill passed Victoria’s state parliament on Wednesday, which imposes harsher vilification offences.
Those found guilty of serious vilification offences, such as inciting hatred or making vilification threats, will face up to five years in prison, under the new state laws. Previously, the offences carried a maximum penalty of six months in prison, and they were rarely prosecuted.
Victoria’s laws also expand existing protections against hate speech towards disability, gender identity, sex and sexual orientation, where it had previously only extended to race and religion.
In order to secure the bill’s passage through parliament, the Victorian Labor government struck a deal with the Greens to add safeguards, including the “social, historical, and cultural context”, which requires police and courts to consider these factors when making decisions about vilification in civil and criminal cases.
The safeguard has been described as the “Sam Kerr clause”, referring to Australia’s star footballer who was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment by a London court in February.
In January 2023, Kerr, a player for Australia’s national women’s football team and striker for Chelsea FC, who has Indian heritage, had called a Metropolitan police officer “fucking stupid and white”.
The comment then escalated into a high-profile UK court case, where many people questioned whether the situation, where a person of colour is being charged with racial harassment, was warranted.
Kerr had said she had been “antagonised” by police officers after a taxi driver had taken her to a police station following a dispute. Kerr didn’t deny making the comment but rejected the idea it was a racial offence.
Kerr also expressed acceptance and responsibility for the situation, issuing an apology where she said she regretted how the events unfolded, noting that “it was an incredibly difficult period.”
Speaking during a debate of Victoria’s new hate speech laws, Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell referenced Kerr’s court case, saying: “We recently saw in the Sam Kerr trial the way that laws designed to prevent vilification and discrimination can be weaponised against their intended purpose.”
“It was important to many of us on the crossbench that these new laws were implemented to be accessible for the communities who need them while also not being exploited.”