"Welcome to Queensland - the 'state of censorship' - where a simple sentence can get you up to two years in jail".
This was the statement made by illustrator James Hillier, known as Nordacious, after police ordered him to remove some of his political cartoons because they now break the law after the state of Queensland (Australia) passed new laws in early March banning pro-Palestinian slogans "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada".
Hillier was opening the art and design shop where he also works, located north of Brisbane, when he saw that he had a missed call from the police.
When he returned the call, he was informed that he had been the subject of a complaint for an alleged breach of the law.
"I was asked to remove some advertisements (artwork from the website) to comply with regulations. I spoke to my legal adviser and agreed to their requests, although I am still taking legal advice," Hillier told The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH)(Source).
On 27 March, the author published this statement regarding the complaint and the withdrawal order:
Earlier this week, I was contacted by Queensland police regarding artwork I have published and offered for sale online; artwork containing words and slogans criminalised in Queensland just three weeks ago under new laws introduced by David Crisafulli's (Queensland Premier) government.
These laws carry a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment. I have removed these advertisements while I seek legal advice.
There is something genuinely destabilising about being told that your art is illegal. That the things you have illustrated - out of empathy, out of pain, out of a deep and sincere desire to see justice for people who have been crushed by systems far more powerful than they are - could, theoretically, land you in jail. Particularly when every piece I make is grounded in the belief that all human beings deserve dignity, freedom and justice.
My practice as an artist has always been marked by my humanism. I oppose fanaticism in all its forms, without exception. I also believe, deeply, in the right to speak freely about injustice. Including the injustice being done to the Palestinian people. That will not change.
I am still in contact with legal advisors and will have more to share at another time.
Love and solidarity - James / Nordacious
Illustration from 11 February on the author's Instagram account with the text:"Up to 2 years in prison for saying "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" - that's the legislation currently before the Queensland Parliament under the Crisafulli government. They're going to have to build more prisons before we decide to keep quiet about genocide".
On 30 March, the Australian Cartoonists' Association published this statement on its website:
Nordacious and the Queensland Government
James Hillier, also known as Nordacious, is a freelance artist and cartoonist from Brisbane who creates artwork that he sells in the form of prints and various promotional items. His content is often political and satirical in nature. He works independently and is not represented or protected by any organisation or employer.
As part of the hastily drafted 2026 Amendment Bill, entitled "Combating anti-Semitism and preventing access to weapons by terrorists and criminals", the Queensland Government has criminalised terms and expressions commonly used by protesters to criticise Israel's performance. The expressions in question have multiple meanings and are highly controversial.
Following complaints to the police, Hillier has been warned that some of his works - even those that make visual reference to the phrases, even if they do not use them directly - are in breach of the law and could lead to a prison sentence.
It is impossible to know for sure, as the new laws have not yet been tested. The rich can afford to take these laws to court. Self-employed artists have to withdraw their works, go underground and hope not to face an exorbitant legal bill.
The new law is fulfilling its purpose, which is to deter protests and frighten those who, in their view, are angry at the actions of a foreign state, not against people of a particular religion.
This must be seen as an inversion of the concept of security and an infringement of people's rights to freedom of expression and artistic expression. Repression of dissent is a fundamental characteristic of an authoritarian state, which we, as a democratic country, must firmly oppose.
We call on the Queensland Government to withdraw its draconian new laws, and we call on other state governments and the Federal Government of Australia to recognise and uphold the rights of citizens and artists to dissent, as befits an open democracy.
Cathy Wilcox
PresidentDavid Blumenstein
Vice-PresidentAustralian Cartoonists Association
Context
You know that under charges of anti-Semitism anyone can be prosecuted for anything they do or say against Israel's historic trampling of human rights. Even if it spits on civil rights and freedom of speech and press. Now, in Australia they have taken it even further and made censorship and repression of dissent into law.
Thus, the Australian state of Queensland banned pro-Palestinian slogans "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada" under sweeping new anti-hate speech legislation that includes a prison sentence of up to two years for "distributing, displaying or reciting prohibited phrases for the purpose of harassment or offence".
Yes, it's that absurd. At the beginning of March 2026, these two phrases became "prohibited expressions" by law in the state of Queensland.
Measures to formally ban these slogans were contained in the Combating Anti-Semitism and Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Terrorists and Criminals Amendment Bill 2026, which was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 27 February. This legislation is modelled on the omnibus bills passed by both the NSW and federal governments in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre.
The offence of reciting, distributing, publishing or displaying prohibited expressions is contained in section 52DA of the Criminal Code 1899 (Queensland). The offence is contravened where a phrase is quoted in public in such a way that it "may reasonably be expected to cause a member of the public to feel threatened, harassed or offended". Unless the perpetrator has a "reasonable excuse", an exception that is as elastic and ambiguous as it is handy. In practice, anyone who claims to be offended by such expressions can be denounced and can end up in jail, especially when they are used to express support for the Palestinian cause. At the very least, the complainant is assured that the defendant will face lengthy legal proceedings.
In amendments to the still draft Fighting Antisemitism and Keeping Guns out of the Hands of Terrorists and Criminals Amendment Act 2026, the Justice for Palestine Magan-djin (Brisbane) coalition, a broad coalition of grassroots organisations and individuals advocating for the rights to justice and freedom for Palestinians, both inside and outside Palestine, formed in January 2009 to organise demonstrations againstdemonstrations against the rights to justice and freedom for Palestinians, both inside and outside Palestine, a broad coalition of grassroots organisations and individuals defending the rights to justice and freedom of Palestinians both inside and outside Palestine, formed in January 2009 to organise demonstrations against the Israeli massacre in Gaza, tried unsuccessfully to explain to the drafters of the bill their error in interpreting these phrases in these terms:
From the river to the sea
In the 1960s a slogan emerged to defend the equality of all people living in the geographical area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It was a call for freedom from apartheid, freedom from occupation and freedom from oppression. In the 1960s a slogan emerged to defend the equality of all people living in the geographical area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It was a call for freedom from apartheid, freedom from occupation and freedom from oppression.
Globalising the Intifada"Intifada" is the Arabic word for "uprising". It is used to express the rejection of living conditions that prevent people from living in dignity. In short, it is a reaction against oppression. When people chant "let's globalise the intifada", they are calling for the application of international law and human rights principles.
These expressions are political slogans rooted in the history of the struggle for liberation and freedom. They are used in the context of advocacy for Palestinian rights, self-determination and equality. Their use depends on the context, the intention of the speaker and the intended audience. The drafters of this bill and the media statements accompanying its publication show a clear attempt to equate anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel and the defence of Palestinian human rights. This is not only false reasoning, but also exposes the true motivation behind the bill: to protect Israel from legitimate criticism.
*See complete document
Humour in trouble, a collection of cases
Cases of cartoonists who have had problems of some importance because of their cartoons or satirical illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, without being cartoonists, have got into trouble for sharing them.
