In the timeless wisdom of childhood playgrounds, we were taught that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me’. This simple adage points to a fundamental truth. Physical violence inflicts real harm, while mere words, no matter how offensive, do not equate to acts of brutality.
Yet, in the corridors of power in Canberra, the Albanese Labor government seems to have forgotten this distinction entirely.
Instead of confronting the deadly threat of Islamic terrorism head-on, they are diverting attention to nebulous concepts like ‘hate speech’, lumping in Islamophobia and homophobia as if they pose the same existential danger as the radical ideologies that have claimed innocent lives on Australian soil.
Hate speech, while distasteful and divisive, is not Islamic terrorism. The former might wound feelings or spark debate, but the latter results in bloodshed and shattered families. At the horrific Bondi massacre, Islamic terrorism led to the senseless deaths of 15 innocent people. This was not an abstract ideological skirmish. It was a tangible act of violence that demanded a resolute response from our leaders.
The Labor government has chosen to completely sidestep this reality, burying it under layers of political correctness and misdirection. And in a move that surprised nobody, the Coalition has no idea what to do, except to pen their own version of censorship.
Meanwhile, left-wing activists have seized the moment to wield the proposed legislation as a tool of the long march. Targeted measures must be crafted to combat the very real scourge of Islamic terrorism which has proven its lethal intent through murder. Instead, leftists insist on including protections against Islamophobia and homophobia.
Islamic terrorism is responsible for the deaths of 15 people on Australian soil. It wasn’t an act of hate speech, it was murder.
Conflating hate speech with Islamic terrorism dilutes the focus and undermines public safety. It’s a classic case of virtue-signalling over substance, where the priority shifts from preventing actual killings to policing thoughts and words. Words may sting, but they don’t shoot at you with high-powered rifles. Sticks and stones wielded by Islamic terrorists, do. Banning sticks and stones won’t address the real problem.
Such evasion speaks volumes about the Albanese government’s inadequacy. Labor are not up to the task of protecting Australians from Islamic terrorists. In fact, they are too scared to even name the threat, let alone confront it with the vigour it demands.
By tiptoeing around the issue, cloaking it in euphemisms and unrelated social justice agendas, they betray a fundamental weakness in leadership. Australia requires a government that prioritises real security over performative inclusivity, one that distinguishes between hurtful rhetoric and homicidal ideology.
Amid this cowardice, Pauline Hanson stands out as the only political leader who has directly addressed the problem of Islamic extremism without flinching. Currently banned from Parliament for her bold stunt of wearing a burqa in the Senate to highlight the dangers of such garments and push for a ban, she has been silenced by the very establishment that fears her unflinching truth-telling.
Without Pauline Hanson’s voice in the chamber, the cowardly legislators are free to concoct a Woke word salad of legislation that criminalises free speech while completely avoiding the Islamic terrorism that encourages the murder of innocent civilians. Her absence only amplifies the government’s reluctance to act decisively against the real threats facing our nation.
It’s time to revisit that old adage and apply it to policy-making. Words can be addressed through education and dialogue, but we must reserve our strongest resolve for the sticks and stones of terrorism. Nothing else will honour the victims of Bondi and ensure such tragedies are not repeated.
The Albanese government must find its spine, or step aside for those who will. But with Pauline Hanson banned from Parliament, Labor and the Greens will use this opportunity to push through even more of their socialist waffle. Maybe not next week, but they will manage it eventually.
Dr Michael de Percy @FlaneurPolitiq is the Spectator Australia’s Canberra Press Gallery Correspondent. If you would like to support his writing, or read more of Michael, please visit his website.
