Last week, Queensland followed the New South Wales and federal parliaments by passing stronger hate crime laws in response to the Bondi terror attack.

The Queensland laws target two specific phrases – an approach that risks the laws being struck down as unconstitutional. Two protesters were arrested on Wednesday – the day the laws came into effect.

The NSW laws strengthened criminal offences and clamped down on protest rights. The federal laws trigger possible prison time for anyone connected with a banned hate group.

According to the governments introducing them, these laws will not only make our communities safer, they will also enhance our social cohesion. In introducing the national laws, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said “the passage of this bill will give us hope that Australia will continue to be a place of tolerance and that our diversity can be displayed with pride”.

Since the Bondi attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for “social cohesion” at least 35 times. Former opposition leader Sussan Ley invoked the phrase nearly as much. The words are used by politicians and commentators across the political spectrum to justify everything from banning Swastikas to halting migration.

Can we really create more cohesive societies by banning everything we deem to be not cohesive? Has social cohesion become just another buzzword, or can governments still achieve it through meaningful reform?

What is social cohesion, anyway?

There is no single, agreed definition, but social cohesion typically includes various markers of a “good society”. This includes high levels of:

trust,........

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