Sydney: Due to concerns among intelligence professionals and politicians that far-right extremism is on the rise, particularly among young people, Australia will now outlaw Nazi insignia. A legislation to outlaw references to the SS and Nazis will be introduced. With a potential prison sentence of up to 12 months, it will be unlawful to display certain symbols on flags, armbands, T-shirts and the internet.
Mark Dreyfus, Australia's attorney general, stated that the actions would support efforts already being taken by some state governments to limit such emblems. Due to the swastika's religious importance in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as the Nazi salute, these gestures will not be prohibited.
“The Albanese government is sending the clearest possible signal to those who seek to spread hatred, violence and antisemitism that we find these actions repugnant and they will not be tolerated,” Dreyfus said.
Videos showed a group of 30 men doing the Nazi salute repeatedly while being encircled by law enforcement. They were NSN followers, the most well-known neo-Nazi organisation in Australia, according to the US-based Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.
The group said in a recent study: “Much like in the US, the Australian far right has exploded in recent years, with the rise of new white supremacist organisations and movements, many connected online to activists in other countries. Violence from these quarters is also rising and is sometimes exported.”
Josh Roose, an associate professor and expert in far-right extremism at Melbourne’s Deakin University, said that many of Australia’s extremist groups modelled themselves on American groups such as the Proud Boys, which emerged with the election of Donald Trump.