Misinformation and Disinformation Bill

I rise to speak about the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024. This bill, as it currently stands, has significant flaws, and I will not be supporting it. As the Senate is the house of review, it is our role to do due diligence on legislation. When I first saw it, at first glance, the bill seemed to be a reasonable approach to tackle harmful content on platforms. But, on any further examination, there are such significant defects in the bill that it should not pass as drafted. Our role in this place is not merely to pass or reject laws but to improve them and ensure they strengthen our way of life, including our freedoms.

We do need to be vigilant against misinformation and disinformation, especially the pernicious effects it has when used by bad actors as a part of their foreign interference campaigns, and this is a very real threat to Australians. Like many of you, I have received countless emails, phone calls and letters and, as always, I thank our constituents for their input into this. But it was on the solid reading of the bill that I came to this conclusion. It has significant flaws, as I said at the beginning, and I can't see how they can be corrected. I agree that there may be potential, but at this point I will not be voting for it, and I will vote against it. We do need stronger safeguards against harmful online content, but this bill is not the solution.