An Australian state could become the first in the country to ban slogans commonly used in the pro-Palestine movement, including the widely heard phrase "from the river to the sea", under sweeping new "hate speech" reforms announced on Sunday.
Queensland premier David Crisafulli said the proposed laws were a direct response to the Bondi attack in December, in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukah celebration.
The legislation, due to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday, would create a new offence prohibiting the public distribution, publication, display or recitation of proscribed phrases where the conduct is intended to cause menace, harassment or offence.
Queensland’s attorney general, Deb Frecklington, confirmed that "globalise the intifada" would also be listed as a proscribed phrase alongside "from the river to the sea".
"These sayings have no place in Queensland, when they are used to incite hatred, offence and menace," Frecklington claimed.
According to local media, the proposed changes could see individuals face prison sentences of up to seven years for saying proscribed slogans.
Crisafulli said authorities had warned action would be taken following the attack, describing the prohibitions as "about drawing a clear line – and stamping out the embers of hatred that were allowed to burn unchecked for too long – to ensure we protect Queenslanders".
Despite the latest move, authorities have shown no clear link between the Sydney attack and pro-Palestinian activism.
Police investigations concluded there was no evidence that the perpetrators, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were part of a "broader terrorist cell", determining that they had acted alone.
Sunday’s announcement came amid warnings from civil liberties groups who argue that Palestine solidarity campaigns in Australia have been unfairly linked to the attack and increasingly framed as "antisemitic".
In neighbouring New South Wales, a parliamentary inquiry last month recommended banning the phrase "globalise the intifada" only when it is used to incite hatred, harassment, intimidation or violence.
The inquiry did not recommend banning "from the river to the sea"- a phrase referring to historic Palestine - the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
The slogan "globalise the intifada", derived from the Arabic word for uprising, refers to Palestinian mass movements against Israeli occupation that emerged in 1987 and again in 2000.
These uprisings initially involved widespread civil resistance and were met with violent repression by Israeli forces.
Pro-Palestine advocates have rejected claims that such slogans are inherently anti-Jewish, arguing instead that they reflect calls for Palestinians to live freely and equally in their homeland, as well as demands for international accountability over Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories particularly during the genocidal Israeli war in Gaza which began in October 2023.