As you may have seen the Prime Minister has announced that federal parliament will be recalled early, on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 July, to hold a condolence motion for the lives taken in the Bondi terror attack and consider legislation that amends Commonwealth laws surrounding hate speech and set up a new national gun buyback scheme.

You can read the Prime Minister's announcement here.

An exposure draft of the legislation has been released, and is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website here. 

The government has referred the legislation to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) for inquiry and report. 

Unlike other parliamentary committees, the PJCIS only includes parliamentarians from Labor and the Coalition. 

Members of the public can make a submission on the legislation by emailing [email protected] or via the inquiry website. Submissions are due by 4pm, Thursday, 15 January 2026.

The Prime Minister has said that he would like the legislation to pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate in a single day next Tuesday 20 January 2026 meaning there will be limited scope for debate or questions about the legislation and also limited opportunity to make amendments.

I called for parliament to return early to consider the legislative and regulatory gaps and what further actions the government needs to take in the wake of the Bondi terror attack targeting the Jewish community. These are critical changes that need to be dealt with expediently but

I also think it is important that people have a chance to be heard, and that the details of the legislation are scrutinised and respectfully debated. I want to take the time to listen to our community and reflect their views in the parliament.

Roundtable discussion - Monday 19 January 2026

I have invited community leaders, representatives and experts to a roundtable discussion about the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026 on Monday 19 January 2026 from 11am to 12.30pm.

I am also inviting members of our community to listen to this discussion online and participate via the webinar chat. 

You can register to watch the webinar at this link.