An announcement on domestic violence by Anthony Albanese has been hit by a bitter backlash after Aussies blasted the PM’s bid to bring in misinformation laws.
Mr Albanese marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with a video in a post on X on Monday – but was slammed in the comments.
X users pounced on the PM’s post to register their anger at the proposed misinformation law, which has been branded an attempt at censorship by many.
‘Today we pause to remember all whose lives have been lost to domestic and family violence,’ said the PM in his video address.
‘One death is one too many. One death per week is an epidemic, and each death is its own universe of devastation.
‘Domestic, family and sexual violence goes against everything we hold dear as Australians.’
But one commenter replied:’So does censorship and banning kids from interacting with their friends and family. All pretty Un-Australian.’
Another accused the PM of ‘distraction’ and said he tried to rush the Bill to ‘prevent the next generation of voters to get alternative views and information outside of government-approved sources’.
‘Oh look at this man trying to make us “safe”,’ said another irate commenter.
‘So I understand this is really important. However, like always, this unfortunately is being announced as he attempts to ram through the Digital-ID bill. It’s loathsome.’
The PM”s post came a day after communications minister Michelle Rowland confirmed Labor would abandon its push to introduce a misinformation Bill.
Ms Rowland made the announcement on Sunday after revelations the Greens, Coalition and several cross-benchers would not support the legislation.
Although the misinformation laws may be axed, the Albanese government has also introduced world-first legislation to ban under-16s from social media platforms.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has signalled his support for the new laws – meaning they are almost certain to pass the Parliament.
And the government also plans to roll out a digital ID system by the end of the year.
In August, Government Services Minister Bill Shorten announced an $11.4million trial of a QR code mobile phone application that would replace a driver’s licence card or passport to verify a person’s identity.
Accessed via a person’s myGov wallet, the technology will store information such as someone’s date-of-birth, address, citizenship, visa status, qualifications, occupational licences or working with children check, and other information already held by the government.
Aussies could use the technology to book hotel rooms, verify their identity with a new employer or prove they’re over 18 at a bar, Shorten said.
But the proposal has sparked widespread concerns from security experts and non-Labor MPs.
While Mr Albanese was speaking about domestic violence on Monday, a landmark coronial inquest found that it was still rampant in the Northern Territory.
Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage handed down the findings into the killings of four Aboriginal women – Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Miss Yunupingu and Kumarn Rubuntja – by their partners.
During the course of the inquest, the coroner’s office was aware of 86 domestic violence deaths of women in the NT, most of them Aboriginal, over the last 24 years.
In front of the Domestic and Family Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin, the coroner called for funding for a Territory peak body to respond to the ‘shocking horror’.
‘It is only the Northern Territory, which experiences the highest rates of domestic violence in the country, that does not have a peak body,’ she told the courtroom.
‘We must frankly acknowledge that our government and non-government agencies are failing to turn the tide.’
