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In brief
- Burke said his department had received advice from ASIO that the group met the legal threshold to be banned.
- Established in 1953, Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic political organisation with chapters around the world.
The federal government has initiated steps to outlaw the Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir under newly established hate group legislation, as disclosed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
During an appearance on ABC’s Insiders program, Burke shared that his department has been advised by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) that the group meets the necessary legal criteria for prohibition.
This move follows the enactment of hate group laws introduced in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach terror attack. These laws provide a legal framework empowering the home affairs minister to ban organizations found to be involved in or promoting hate crimes linked to race, nationality, or ethnic origin.
Burke explained that his department is now tasked with compiling a detailed briefing to convince him that the activities of this radical cleric group elevate the likelihood of hate-fueled violence.
Following the preparation of this briefing, the opposition leader will be informed, after which the attorney-general will need to approve the enactment of these laws.
“This is the first time we have been able to ban, potentially, a group which falls short of a terrorist listing,” he said.
“It says you don’t have to be specifically calling for, but you do have to be acting in a way that increases the risk of communal violence or politically-motivated violence.”
The federal government announced in December that the laws were intended to target “hate preachers”. They named Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group that disbanded in January, as organisations it wanted banned.
Established in 1953, Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic political organisation with chapters around the world. Its name translates to “Party of Liberation”.
The organisation is banned in several countries, including in the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, China and several countries in Central Asia.
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