The Tasmanian government has abolished blasphemy offences following advocacy from the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA).
In late October, the state parliament passed the Justice and Related Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2024, which introduced numerous amendments, including clauses to remove blasphemy provisions from two existing acts of parliament.
Section 119 of the Criminal Code Act 1924 had stated that any person who “by words spoken or intended to be read, wilfully publishes a blasphemous libel” would be guilty of the crime of blasphemy. Section 12 of the Police Offences Act 1935, addressing prohibited language and behaviour, outlawed “blasphemous language”.
Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Guy Barnett wrote to the RSA last week to say the Justice and Related Legislation bill would soon receive Royal Assent.
“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention,” he wrote.
In early 2023, the RSA’s then president Meredith Doig wrote to the Liberal state government to ask that it remove blasphemy from the law books, arguing that such provisions “had no place in modern-day Tasmania”.
The then Attorney-General, Elise Archer, replied to Dr Doig in April of that year, pledging that the government would consider “what, if any, legislative reform may be necessary in relation to the existing blasphemy offence provisions”.
During debate on the bill in parliament this year, Mr Barnett said the large number of amendments contained in the bill aimed to “update and clarify” various acts across his portfolio.
“The bill removes the provisions relating to blasphemy. This reflects that the last successful prosecution for blasphemy was in 1871, the offence no longer exists in some Australian jurisdictions and law reform processes have recommended blasphemy offences be abolished,” he said.
In the House of Assembly, Independent MP Miriam Beswick said she was “quite surprised” to learn that blasphemy remained a crime. In the Legislative Council, Independent MP Rosemary Armitage said it was important to remove blasphemy to “modernise Tasmanian criminal law in line with community expectations”.
Speaking today, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman welcomed the Tasmanian government’s decision to abolish blasphemy.
“Whilst the blasphemy provisions were clearly antiquated and had not been used for a long time, it is a very positive thing for Tasmanians that they are now wiped from the law books,” he said.
“We’d now like to see all other states and territories that have blasphemy laws follow suit.
“Indeed, in 2018 the Ruddock report on religious freedom recommended that those jurisdictions that have not abolished statutory or common law offences of blasphemy should do so.”
In early 2023, the RSA also wrote to the attorneys-general of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory to urge them to abolish blasphemy laws – and, in the case of South Australia, sacrilege laws.
In an academic paper published in 2022, constitutional law expert Luke Beck said the crime of blasphemy remained “one of the more bizarre legacies of the past”, regulated by statute in New South Wales, Tasmania and the ACT, and under common law in Victoria and South Australia.
Also, the RSA will continue to call on the Tasmanian Parliament to modernise its Standing Orders so as to replace daily Christian prayers with something secular, more inclusive and reflective of the community.
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Si Gladman is Executive Director at the Rationalist Society of Australia. You can contact him at sigladman@rationalist.com.au.
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