Man Assaulted And Racially Abused, Police Decide Hate Speech Too Difficult To Prove
KEY POINTS
- ā¢Palestinian Australian filmmaker Shamikh Badra alleged assault and racial abuse on a Sydney train in August.
- ā¢His brother Majed Badra captured the entire incident on phone and CCTV, Evidence was clear.
- ā¢Police charged the attacker solely with common assault, excluding hate speech charges.
- ā¢Attorney General labeled the attack 'unacceptable,' spotlighting NSW's problematic hate speech laws.
On a Sydney train in August, Palestinian Australian film-maker Shamikh Badra experienced an ordeal worthy of a hard-hitting arthouse flick: assaulted and racially abused after an anti-immigration march, with his brother Majed Badra filming the chaos on his phone. Despite multiple video angles including CCTV, police charged the attacker only with common assaultābecause apparently hate speech laws are NSW's version of Schrƶdinger's cat: existing yet invisible. The Attorney General called the incident āunacceptableā, which is officially the policing equivalent of a strongly worded star sticker. This debacle crisply highlights Australiaās rare and loosely enforced racial vilification laws that Australian lawmakers are still ātryingā to figure outāproving some progress is definitely telling a story to a camera but forgetting about the plot.
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Sydney trains are now featuring free racial abuse shows, but hey, police only give out the friendly 'common assault' ticketsāhate speech still mysteriously parked in a no-charge zone like that awkward cousin at a family reunion.
Only in NSW can someone get a full assault and racial abuse experience but walk away with just a slap on the wristāhate speech apparently still buffering.
CCTV, phone video, bipartisan shock but no hate speech charges. NSW's hate laws must be those mythical ones that only work when no one's offended.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 11/28/2025 | Author: Penry Buckley
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