Australia: “Prohibited hate group” laws recall 1951 referendum to ban “communism”
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
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The new laws, passed last month, grant the minister in charge of the Australian Federal Police the power to designate and outlaw "hate groups" by decree, with supporters facing up to 15 years' imprisonment, as reported by Mike Head on the World Socialist Web Site.
The legislation allows for the banning of groups based on vaguely-defined "hate crimes" or potential future support, effectively criminalizing opposition to the US-backed Israeli regime and dissenting voices, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government drawing comparisons to the 1951 Communist Party Dissolution Act.
The laws recall the Cold War-era attempts to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia, with the Menzies government's 1950 Act authorizing the Governor-General to declare individuals "communists" and restrict their employment and union activities, as noted by the World Socialist Web Site, citing historical parallels with the McCarthyite witch hunt in the US.
