Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vows to defend hate group laws as neo-Nazis plan court fight
Members and supporters of a now-banned hate group have rushed to erase their online footprint, warning “don’t let the state make an example of you”.
The National Socialist Network (NSN) and its affiliated White Australia groups and the European Australia Movement will be listed as a proscribed hate group under Australian law at midnight, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on Friday.
This is the second such listing, after the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir.
Under that designation, Mr. Burke said, supporting, financing, training, recruiting, participating in or directing this group constitutes a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
“This sends a clear message to people who believe in racial superiority that their views have no place in modern Australia,” he said in a statement on Friday.
In response to new laws passed by parliament earlier this year following the Bondi terror attack allegations, NSN announced that the group would disband.
However, Mr. Burke claimed that they changed their name and continued to organize.
“What they actually did, for want of a better term, was phoenix,” he said.
“(They) changed their name, they didn’t change the fact that they were still an organization and still engaged in exactly the same type of behavior that met the threshold of this legislation.
“No matter what they call themselves or how they structure themselves, these groups use all the techniques of thuggery and intimidation that the Nazis were always known to use against Jewish communities and other groups they targeted.”
Following Friday’s announcement, former members of NSN deleted their public social media profiles as a message was shared among the group’s supporters.
It warns supporters to “exercise extreme caution” and not praise the group online, share posts or images, and avoid leaving group chats with “former members.”
“Please take this seriously,” it says.
“Don’t let the state lead and lead by example.”
In a statement shared online by former NSN leader Thomas Sewell, he claimed the move was made because the government “hates white Australians” and was a response to an attempt to form a new political party.
Mr Sewell said he had appealed against the laws to the Supreme Court.
Speaking on Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was “absolutely confident” the challenge would fail.
“We have outlawed neo-Nazis, who have gone through various name changes, but their policies are the same – politics of hate, policies of antisemitism, policies of trying to divide people and targeting Australians,” he said.
“These are important laws for Australians and we will stand by them, we will defend them.”
