For decades, Labor governments have been waiting for a “catalysing political trigger” to convince the opposition that there was a real and urgent need for a comprehensive, codified Australian charter of rights as exists in all other comparable nations.

It is a shame that the tragic event at Bondi last December has not yet become that political trigger. The shock was palpable, public sentiment was high, human rights had demonstrably been trashed, lives were lost and irrevocably changed, the social fabric frayed.

Clearly something needed to be done to reinforce the rights and safety not just of the Jewish community, but all Australians.

The immediate response to criminalise and punish was understandable – outlaw hate speech, ban hate groups, prohibit demonstrations and phrases, make the hatred of other human beings and their views go away by force of law and ministerial decree.

This punitive response lies deep in the Australian psyche. No doubt it provides a moment of comfort and reassurance that something can be done – visas revoked, bad actors detained and outlawed, arrests made, charges laid, guns bought back.

But as UNSW law professor Luke McNamara wrote, “We need to moderate our expectations on how much ever-expanding forms of criminalisation can deliver the community safety and social cohesion to which we aspire. We must also recognise both the harms that can be........

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