Criminalising 'Globalise the Intifada' and 'From the River to the Sea': Will the Constitution Allow It?

Abstract

Following the 2025 Bondi Beach terror attack, state governments have enacted, or are seeking to enact, laws criminalising the public use of certain pro-Palestine slogans, including the slogans 'globalise the intifada' and 'from the river to the sea'. This comment examines whether the prohibitions recently introduced by Queensland are likely to survive a constitutional challenge under the implied freedom of political communication. While last-minute amendments to the law — which mean that the slogans are now directly identified and prohibited by the legislation itself — have rendered it more vulnerable to constitutional challenge, the paper argues that the new laws will probably withstand such a challenge, nonetheless.