The Federal Government will soon introduce the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill into parliament. Photo: Telegram.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the Federal Government will legislate to ban the display and sale of some Nazi symbols, in the wake of an apparent increase in far-right fascist hate groups.
The government says it will soon introduce the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill into parliament. The bill will outline a public and online ban of flags and clothing that display symbols relating to Nazism, specifically the Hakenkreuz (or swastika), and Schutzstaffel (SS) symbols.
The introduction of the bill follows a March anti-trans rally at the Victorian State Parliament in Melbourne which was disrupted by a neo-Nazi extremist group. Following the protest, Labor attacked the coalition for not condemning the rally which was addressed by UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and a Victorian Liberal politician.
Introduced by Shadow Attorney General Michaelia Cash, that private member’s bill proposed that people who knowingly displayed Nazi symbols without a reasonable excuse would face criminal charges and punishments of 12 months in prison or fines.
While the Labor and Greens majority of the committee thought the bill had merit, it was voted down because it was found to have not adequately defined a Nazi symbol.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton criticised the decision, and urged the government to quickly come up with its own bill. “The government has the full resources of the Attorney-General’s department, they have scores of lawyers, they can come up with a bill today,” he said on 19 May.
“Frankly, they could draft a bill in 24 hours – they haven’t done and I would encourage them to do it. I don’t want to see any encouragement given to people who are preaching hate and those who are worshipping at some ideology which is twisted and sick.”
Mr Dreyfus said the Federal Government’s moves were a start and may not be the end of what they would ban, but would go some way towards aligning with similar laws already passed by NSW and Victoria.
However, he said the federal legislation would not ban the Nazi salute because this was better managed at the state and territory level.
The Victorian Government passed its laws in April 2022 which came into force in December; NSW followed soon after. As with the Commonwealth, although swastikas on flags and clothing are banned, allowances are made for genuine educational, scientific or artistic purposes, as well as in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism where it symbolises prosperity and good luck.
The ACT Legislative Assembly introduced similar legislation on 23 November 2022 to make it a crime to display the swastika at an event, to post it on social media, or to wear the symbol.
It is hoped the banning of the symbols will go some way towards stifling the recruitment of marginalised or disenfranchised people to hate groups, for which these symbols are commonly used, as well as for the purposes of intimidation and threats.
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