Chris Minns responds to National Socialist Network rally at NSW Parliament
On 15 August, new laws banning public incitement to hatred came into force in NSW.
“If a person publicly says or does something that encourages others to hate a person or group based on race, and if this is done deliberately, they will face serious penalties,” the NSW Department of Communities and Justice said in a statement.
“These include fines and even imprisonment.”
According to the law, organizers who want to organize a permitted protest must submit a form to the police commissioner stating the purpose of the gathering, as well as information such as time, date, location and expected number of participants.
The commissioner may choose to challenge the protest in court. If the police do not object within seven days, the protest will be deemed permitted.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chairman of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, said neo-Nazis were skilled at identifying grievances and prejudices in society and manipulating them “for their evil purposes”.
“To defeat this, our law enforcement and security agencies need the right legal tools to monitor and disrupt violent extremists and prevent them from threatening or physically harming peaceful Australians,” Ryvchin said.
“But the most important thing we must do is to restore civility, civility and basic rationality in our country, which will immediately eliminate any appeal of movements founded on deplorable ideas such as overthrowing democracy and creating racial hierarchies.”
In senate estimates late last month, the Australian Federal Police said it was concerned the NSN was trying to form a political party.
Acting commissioner Nigel Ryan announced that the AFP was setting up new national security investigation teams to focus on groups such as the NSN, whose actions undermine social cohesion even if they are not criminal.
In September, Acting NSW Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said the emergence of neo-Nazi groups was so concerning that “our Interaction and Hate Crime Unit, counter-terrorism command and state intelligence group are constantly monitoring the activities of these groups.”
Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson confirmed at the same hearing that police were monitoring NSN’s physical education sessions in parks and were aware of another protest outside the NSW parliament earlier in the year.
“Here in New South Wales, we’re not seeing the same issues as in Victoria, where the group originated, but we’re certainly aware of them and monitoring them,” said Hudson.
The National Socialist Network played a critical role in organizing the anti-immigration marches for Australia held in August.
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