Neo-Nazis lose court bid for stay on hate group listing
Neo-Nazi group White Australia has lost its bid for temporary immunity against hate laws passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, which it said would make it “extinct”.
The organization, which wanted to register as a political party, requested the Supreme Court to temporarily block its designation as a banned hate group.
But on Thursday, Chief Justice Stephen Gageler rejected White Australia’s request for an injunction.
White Australia also challenges the broader constitutionality of anti-hate speech laws passed in the wake of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach.
A two-day hearing on the issue is planned for September.
White Australian lawyer Peter King, who argued for the injunction on Thursday, said listing the organization as a banned hate group would shut it down permanently.
“Unless it is restricted, the organization will be destroyed,” he told the Supreme Court.
Home Secretary Tony Burke declared the neo-Nazi organization a banned hate group in May, following advice from spy agency ASIO.
White Australia’s predecessor, the National Socialist Network, announced its disbandment when hate laws came into force.
Mr Burke said in effect the group had become a “phoenix”, changing its name to White Australia and continuing its operations with largely the same members.
According to the government’s statement, supporting, funding or joining the group is considered a crime.
