On July 28, 2026 at Speakers Corner outside Queensland Parliament, a crowd of media, plaintiffs, supporters and school children witnessed the media launch of JFP’s High Court challenge to annul Queensland’s law criminalising certain phrases related to Palestine, that infringe freedom of speech. (the legislation is badly worded Fighting Antisemitism and Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Terrorists and Criminals Amendment Act 2026). Worse than that, the Queensland government has turned around and attacked the people who built a mass movement against Israel’s genocide while the government has remained silent. The government is threatening to incarcerate them and to hit them with enormous legal costs while they defend their democratic right to protest crimes against humanity.
Remah Naji outlined the reason for the second largest demonstration in Queensland history (50,000 people) was because of people’s opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Queensland government’s silence in the face of crimes against humanity. Instead the Queensland government chose to attack the grieving communities by passing laws that outlaw their protests against the genocide.
Michael Bradley, a lawyer representing Justice for Palestine Magan-djin, highlighted the law’s overreach, noting it’s the first of its kind in Australia. Seven plaintiffs, including Remah Naji and Edward Carroll, argued the law targets political speech and violates constitutional rights.
The case aims to overturn the law, with significant support from the Australian community.
The High Court will review the constitutional validity of the law, potentially setting a precedent against government censorship of political speech.
Transcript = https://otter.ai/u/M6gXJ84lQpxwzY8Rw-q9fkMFoKg?utm_source=copy_url