In what looks set to be a win for free speech Down Under, critical support from independent senators for the Australian Government’s controversial misinformation bill has collapsed completely.

The Labor Government needed votes from four out of seven independents to pass the bill, but as of today, every single one of the seven independent senators on the crossbench has declared their opposition to the bill.

Formerly undecided Senator Lidia Thorpe today stated her intention to vote against it, due to concerns that “white-dominated institutions” would regulate what constitutes truth, which would would “further erase, suppress and misrepresent First Nations narratives and activism.”

Senator David Van appears to have been swayed by public and/or peer pressure, changing his stance from for to against the bill. In Parliament today, Senator Van said that “at first glance, the bill seemed to be a reasonable approach to tackle harmful content on platforms,” but that on further examin