The law is introduced amid a rise in anti-Semitic and hate crimes, fueled by the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Nazi salute and associated hate symbols have been criminalized in Australia.
Legislation banning the saluting and display or sale of symbols associated with terrorist groups came into force on Monday, as the Australian government responds to a rise in hate and anti-Semitic incidents in recent months, especially amid the Israeli bombing of Gaza. .
The legislation criminalizes the sale and display of Nazi motifs, including the swastika and lightning bolt insignia of the SS (Schutzstaffel), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party.
“It is now illegal to perform the Nazi salute in public or publicly display or exchange symbols of Nazi hate,” Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement. “The new laws also ensure that glorifying and praising acts of terrorism are criminal offences.”
The passage of the bill in Parliament by unanimous vote on December 6 sent a clear message that “there is no place in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust and terrorist acts,” Dreyfus said.
Worrying increase
Initially, the bill did not include a ban on the Nazi salute, and federal law planned to leave the issue to the discretion of each state. However, after several incidents, the bill was modified.
In March, a group of neo-Nazis clashed with transgender rights protesters in Melbourne and members were seen raising their arms in a Nazi salute near the state parliament building.
In October, three men were charged after allegedly performing a Nazi salute outside Sydney’s Jewish Museum. In a separate incident the same month, an unverified video showing a group of men outside the iconic Opera House shouting “gas the Jews” during a pro-Palestinian protest sparked worldwide outrage and a police investigation.
According to the Executive Council of Australian Jews, there were more anti-Jewish incidents in October and November last year than in the previous twelve months.
Dreyfus noted in June, when the legislation was introduced, that federal law would be combined with state legislation, as all Australian states and territories had already passed laws or announced plans to ban Nazi symbols.
“We have seen, very sadly, an increase in the number of people displaying these vile symbols, which are symbols that have no place in Australia, they should be disgusting,” he said as he explained the plan. “There is no place in Australia for symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust.”
The new law also prohibits the public display or trade of symbols associated with organizations that Australia designates as “terrorist”, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), Hamas or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). ).
Australia’s spy agency has been warning that far-right groups are on the rise in Australia and have become more organized and visible.
An Australian-born white supremacist murdered 51 Muslim worshipers in the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand.
