Reference:- It has been a challenging couple of weeks for The Sky Reply .

 Reference : -   The new hate speech laws temporarily silenced the Sky Reply Team . 

It behoves one to stay abreast of changes in the law. One hardly relishes the thought of being imprisoned due to an oversight .  The recently introduced hate speech laws required 500 pages to be read with due diligence , following which we felt it advisable to seek the advice of a suitably qualified attorney .  Suitably qualified attorneys expect to be well remunerated , which did slice a sizeable chunk out of our monthly budget . This meant waiting for my pension cheque to arrive so we could buy a fresh ribbon for the trusty Remington .   Anyone can see that the new laws are a hasty response to the appalling antisemitic terror attack at Bondi ,  and it is with antisemitism in mind that we should view them . 

We expected that Ms Michelle Rowland , in the role of Attorney General that she has assumed since her unfortunate ....ahem .... travel expenses misunderstanding...would unambiguously explain the new laws .  Sadly we were disappointed . ABC interviewer , young David Speers , made a great effort to coax an explanation from Michelle , but without success . 

Before dipping into our life savings , we also watched Senator David Shoebridge  explain why , after reading the 500 pages , he refused to vote for the new laws.  David clearly explained why the laws are  unclear , and difficult to explain .  Subsequently we have seen a chap thrown in jail for writing something on the interweb said to violate these new laws.   It is fair to say that we are a tad twitchy here at the Sky Reply . 

As senior editor , I would like to explain from the outset that we do not hate either Michelle Rowland or the ABC  , nor David Speers or David Shoebridge .  Here at The Sky Reply we hate nobody , and only risk tactfully admonishing those whom the government has granted tacit permission for us to criticise.   That , after all , defines freedom of speech .   

The new hate laws are very general and vague at best ,  so as a service to our millions of faithful readers ,  we have listed a few specific examples that demonstrate how the laws appear to apply . 

                STATEMENT                                        HOW IT MIGHT BE DEEMED UNDER HATE LAWS

 Ayatolla Ali Khamenei is evil .                                                                Free speech 

 Benjamin Netanyahu evil.                                                                        Hate speech . 

Palestinians are raised to be terrorists.                                                      Free speech  

Israeli children are taught to support genocide .                                       Hate speech . 

Jews who oppose Zionism are self -hating .                                             Free speech

Millions of Jews oppose the State of Israel .                                            Hate speech . 

The slaughter in Iran is being exaggerated by the media  .                      Hate speech

The slaughter in Gaza is being exaggerated by the media.                      Free speech . 

The Palestinians have brought destruction upon themselves .                 Free speech . 

Israel has brought destruction upon itself .                                              Hate speech . 

Putin is a war criminal .                                                                           Free speech 

Netanyahu is a war criminal                                                                    Hate speech  

Radical Islam is a major problem for the world                                     Free speech 

Zionism is a major problem for the world .                                            Hate speech . 

Wearing Burkas shows a reluctance to integrate .                                   Free speech

Wearing  Kippahs shows a reluctance to integrate .                               Hate speech . 

Greater Israel is a promise from God.                                                    Free speech . 

From the river to the sea Palestine will be free .                                    Hate speech . 

" Give them (Palestinians ) hell !  " .  Jordan Peterson .                        Free speech . 

"Palestinians have the right to resist . " . Christopher Hitchens            Hate speech . 

All the Palestinians must leave their homes or die .                              Free speech . 

The Israelis should end their illegal occupation  .                                 Hate speech .

Hamas is a terrorist organisation that bombs innocent civilians .         Free speech .

Mossad is a terrorist organisation that bombs innocent civilians .        Hate speech. 

The Palestinian Authority  manipulates  the United Nations .               Free speech   

The Likud Party of Israel  manipulates  the United Nations.                 Hate speech . 

The Koran threatens violence to non -believers .                                   Free speech . 

The Torah threatens violence to non-believers .                                    Hate speech  

 

This list is far from compendious , but usefully illustrative . 

We welcome any amendments by readers whose opinions differ , as long as the do not in any way denigrate persons living or dead ... or legally qualified. 

Yours in freedom of speech , 

Ken 

PS.   Ken junior has asked me to confirm that it is Ken Senior who wrote this , and that he had nothing to do with it .  When asked what he thought of the new hate speech laws he replied ...

" Never heard of them " .