Leaders queue up to back boosted anti-hate laws

WHAT THEY SAID: "The right to wear a hijab or a kippah, the right to wear a cassock or a turban on our streets and not be chased down, not be threatened, not be bullied, not be doxxed - you will always have that right" - Premier Jacinta Allan "These are severe penalties. Threatening behaviour, five years. Inciting hatred, this is three years" - Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes "(The reforms) will make the boy that goes to school in a (Jewish) school uniform safer, they will make the girl that wants to wear the Star of David in the CBD safer" - Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann "Those of us who grew up in a community and in a society with a very different surname and felt that wrath back in those days - we don't want our children to feel that anymore" - Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria president Bill Papastergiadis "The proposed reforms acknowledge that all women have a right to feel safe and respected" - Gender Equity Victoria chief executive Micaela Drieberg "Almost two-thirds of the complaints about cyber abuse and image-based abuse sadly involve women" - Fair Agenda chief executive Renee Carr "People who target vulnerable minorities to incite hatred and fear need to be called out and stopped" - Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown "Being vilified and otherwise treated hatefully is something that too many people with disability have to quietly put up with" - Victorian Disability Worker Commissioner Dan Stubbs "We experience ridicule, we experience hate and this legislation is about saying that's not okay" - Women with Disabilities Victoria acting chief executive Julie Kun "This legislation isn't about restricting freedom of speech - it's about ensuring freedom from violence and hate" - Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities Joe Ball "The expanded and strengthened protections means that all Victorians will be able to participate in daily life without fearing being attacked or ridiculed for how they look, where they come from or their abilities and identities" - Multicultural Commissioner Judy Tang