Matt Canavan responds to Hate Crime bill fallout

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Senator Matt Canavan at CPAC 2024 in Brisbane

Following the fallout from those conservative senators who did not vote against the government’s Hate Crime Bill last week, I questioned Senator Matt Canavan about his support for the bill. In drafting legislation, there is always a trade-off for politicians between the process of enabling legislation and the optics of voting for legislation that might not be popular to one’s base.

Canavan has been an advocate for Australia’s traditional resources and energy sector. I heard him speak at CPAC 2024 in Brisbane last year and he is usually not backward in coming forward about issues that are dear to conservatives. I was curious to know his reasons for supporting the Hate Crime Bill.

Here’s how Senator Canavan responded to my questions.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Senator Matt Canavan has answered Michael de Percy’s questions regarding the changes he tried to make to the Hate Crime Bill and the reasons he decided to vote for it in the end, even though he has faced some backlash from his followers. ‘I am not a libertarian. We must maintain an orderly and harmonious society. People threatening or inciting violence should be charged.’

In The Best of Flat White, Alexandra wrote: 

The tightening of restrictions on speech and lowering of the bar for incitement has left Australia in a heated debate – no more so than on the right where the Coalition and several members of centre-right minor parties either voted in favour of Labor’s bill or abstained. Even much-loved figures in the Blue Ribbon movement, such as Matt Canavan, have faced criticism for ultimately following the government’s lead. If you wish to hear his response, please refer to Michael de Percy’s article.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Matt Canavan responds to Hate Crime bill fallout.

Senator Canavan responded:

Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs

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Australia needs to remove the prohibition on nuclear energy before it is too late to catch up

Below are the slides and other details from my presentation entitled 'Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs', to the Forrest Men's Shed at the Wesley Uniting Church Forrest, Canberra.

Through his research, Michael has developed a model to explain networked infrastructure deployment and how technological legacies influence the policy choices available in the future. Based on this model, he will address the challenges to nuclear energy in Australia originating with the antinuclear narrative and the role of the McClelland Royal Commission into British Nuclear Testing in reinforcing this narrative. Michael will then discuss the policy legacies created by the Howard Government’s prohibition of nuclear in 1998, and the policy and infrastructure legacies created by Energy Minister Chris Bowen. He will explain the necessity of a government-controlled nuclear reactor fleet, what that might look like, and the importance of a civilian nuclear industry to support AUKUS. Michael will conclude with a discussion of the absence of a "Plan B" for Australia's energy needs, and the results of renewables-only strategies internationally and what these might mean for Australia’s energy future.

The slides are available below:

Uniparty Hate Crime Bill won’t stop hate crime

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This type of activity is already illegal, we need more action, not words.

The voting behaviour of senators on February 6 was bizarre to say the least. Labor’s Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 passed both houses in what can only be described as a whirlwind. The passing of the bill has left conservatives scratching their heads as a mixed bag of conservative senators voted ‘no’, one abstained, and another well-regarded conservative upset his fans by voting ‘yes’.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Michael de Percy is adamant that the Labor-Coalition hate crimes bill, just passed, will do nothing to stop the hate crimes that it purports to target.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Uniparty Hate Crime Bill won’t stop hate crime.

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