Australian Politics

In short:

Religious groups and unions have made submissions to a Queensland parliamentary committee probing new laws that would ban certain phrases and expressions.

The Islamic Council of Queensland and the Archdiocese of Brisbane raised concerns about religious freedom and civil liberties.

What's next?

The committee will table its report on February 27.

The legislation before the parliament does not specifically ban any phrases, but it gives the government of the day the power to outlaw a phrase through regulation.

The legislation would allow the government to ban an expression if the attorney-general was satisfied it was regularly used to incite discrimination, hostility, or violence towards a relevant group.