Parliament to be recalled next week to rush through new hate laws

Federal MPs will return to Canberra on January 19 to debate new hate speech laws and a national gun buyback scheme following the mass shooting at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach on December 14.

The government will brief the Opposition on a broad package of legislative reforms on Monday afternoon, ahead of the bill's public release on Tuesday.

Under the proposed changes, a new regime that lists organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech that promote violence or racial hatred will be created with up to seven years jail time for those who participate.

The package will create an aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence, and make hate an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will also be granted new powers to cancel or reject visas for those who intend to spread hate and division.

Mr Albanese said he expected cooperation from all sides of Parliament and hoped to pass the Combatting Anti-Semitism, Hate and Extremism bill before Question Time on Tuesday.

"I don't speak on behalf of the Opposition but we have engaged with them, I've gone through very clearly and transparently what the time frame is, and so, I would expect that there will be co-operation," he told reporters.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland described Labor's hate speech package as the "toughest hate laws Australia has ever seen".

She said a new racial vilification offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

"They will specifically target those who seek to spread hatred and disrupt social cohesion in our community. And it will send a clear message that this conduct will not be tolerated," she said.

A condolence motion will be also debated by Parliament to "unequivocally condemn the terrorist atrocity perpetrated at Bondi Beach" and commit Parliament to "eradicating the evil of anti-Semitism".

The motion will convey sympathies to the loved ones of those murdered on December 14, and will recognise the "trauma and the pain of the people who have been injured", and honour the "courage and quick action of police, first responders, and healthcare workers" as well as the "everyday Australians who in the face of this savage event showed incredible bravery".

A promised national gun buyback scheme to bring "Australia's world-leading gun laws into the 21st century" will be rolled into the hate legislation.

Mr Burke said the existing AusCheck system would be used by the government under new gun reforms.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she was "deeply sceptical" of the Prime Minister's decision to introduce a single bill to cover multiple complex areas.

Australian National University associate professor Ron Levy said rolling the issues into one bill could have ramifications if a constitutional challenge is mounted.

He said having just one bill may be perceived as haste on the government's part, threatening the constitutional validity of parts of the bill.

The High Court of Australia does not expressly consider the amount of time taken to draft laws; however, it may be implicitly considered.

"Anything that is not well-tailored, or could be something that might go too far, or things that are disproportionate, might be struck down," Associate Professor Levy said.

Islamic fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has a presence globally, has suggested it may launch legal action against the government regarding the proposed legislation.

But Mr Levy said the single bill allowed the government to "strike while the iron is hot".

"It's very hard to get things done in a democracy, and while you have consensus between opposition and government, that is when you get things done," he said.

"It is a really, really difficult situation. You have no perfect solution, so what you inevitably have to do is a lot of balancing."