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Thursday, June 08, 2023, 10:31
Australian govt to outlaw Nazi hate symbols
By Agencies
Thursday, June 08, 2023, 10:31 By Agencies

A swastika flag (left) is displayed for sale at a store at the Gladstone Harbor Festival in central Queensland, April 11, 2006. The Australian government would legislate to ban swastikas and other Nazi symbols throughout the nation due to an increase in far right activity, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said on June 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA - Australia's Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Thursday announced the government will introduce legislation next week to criminalize public displays of the Nazi hate symbols and ban the trade of items with the symbols imprinted.

Under Australia's Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill, anyone caught breaching the new laws could face up to 12 months in jail.

The swastika, one of the most recognisable symbols of Nazi propaganda, and the insignia of Schutzstaffel (SS), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, will be outlawed to be used as flags and armbands or printed on clothes

The ban includes, but is not limited to, the trade and public display of flags, armbands, t-shirts, insignia and the publication of symbols online promoting Nazi ideology.

The swastika, one of the most recognisable symbols of Nazi propaganda, and the insignia of Schutzstaffel (SS), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, will be outlawed to be used as flags and armbands or printed on clothes.

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Dreyfus said there's been a rise in the public display of these symbols and tackling far-right violent extremism is a priority for the Australian government. 

"We've seen, very sadly, a rise in people displaying these vile symbols, which are symbols that have no place in Australia, they should be repugnant," Dreyfus told Channel Seven television.

"Regrettably, we have seen violence associated with some of the public events that these people have put on."

A ban on the Nazi salute will not be added to the federal law, the attorney-general said. He said state and territory governments can enforce that ban in a more effective way.

"State governments have got more responsibility for what you might call street offences, and our law goes to public display and includes online ... the salute we've left for the states."

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Australia's spy agency has been warning far-right groups were on the rise in Australia and that they had become more organized and visible.

In March, a group of neo-Nazis clashed with transgender rights protesters in Melbourne and was seen raising their arms in a Nazi salute near the state parliament building. Last year, a soccer fan who gave the salute at the Australia Cup final was banned for life from any games sanctioned by Football Australia.

Dreyfus said all Australian states and territories had either passed laws or announced plans to ban Nazi symbols, and the proposed federal laws will mesh with the states'.

There will be exemptions for artistic, academic or religious use of swastikas, which has a spiritual significance in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.


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