NSW Initiates Measures to Ban Nazi Symbols Following Recent March

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The NSW Labor government will introduce a bill to parliament that would give greater powers to police and courts to crack down on conduct which invokes imagery or characteristics associated with Nazism.

Earlier this month, around 60 black-clad members of the National Socialist Network (NSN), many with face coverings, gathered outside NSW parliament, holding a banner that read ‘Abolish the Jewish Lobby’.

Some chanted slogans tied to the Hitler Youth, including “blood and honour”.

The NSW government said on Wednesday it would seek to amend the Crimes Act to ban public displays of Nazi ideology performed “without reasonable excuse and in public”.

Perpetrators found guilty of certain offences will now confront the possibility of up to one year in prison or a fine that could reach $11,000. If these acts are committed in proximity to sensitive sites such as a synagogue, Jewish school, or the Sydney Jewish Museum, the consequences are even more severe, with potential penalties escalating to a two-year imprisonment or a fine of $22,000.

Attorney-General Michael Daley said the legislation gives authorities the tools to act decisively.

“The deplorable stunt we saw outside NSW Parliament has no place in our society. Nobody should be subject to this vile hatred because of their background or faith,” he said.

“We are giving police and the courts additional powers to hold Nazi extremists to account for their abhorrent views.

The government has underscored the introduction of these stringent laws as part of a broader legislative framework designed to combat racial vilification and hatred effectively. This suite of measures reflects a proactive stance against discrimination and aims to foster a safer environment.

South African Matthew Gruter had his visa revoked by the federal government after attending the 8 November event and was taken to a detention centre on Tuesday. He is expected to be deported.

In a statement, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said it “wholeheartedly” welcomed the government’s bill.

“The Nazi ideology and the growth of white supremacist groups do not merely endanger communal safety and cohesion but are fundamentally subversive to the values and structures of our democracy,” the statement reads.

Police powers and enforcement

The amendments will clarify that people can be charged with these offences even if a public assembly is authorised. The 8 November rally was authorised by NSW police under the state’s protest laws via a Form 1 notice.

The neo-Nazi who submitted the Form 1, on behalf of NSN’s parent organisation, White Australia, told SBS News last week that getting approval was relatively simple.

Additionally, the amendments will allow police to order anyone displaying a Nazi symbol in public to remove it.

Refusing to follow that direction without reasonable excuse will become an offence punishable by a maximum fine of $2,200 or up to three months’ imprisonment.

The amendments will also allow such offences to be tried on indictment — for more serious criminal offences — at the District Court and remove the three-year sunset clause on the offence of inciting racial hatred.

A separate piece of legislation introduced on Tuesday to NSW parliament will grant police powers to move on protesters who affect someone’s ability to enter or leave their place of worship.

Earlier move-on powers had been successfully challenged by the Palestine Action Group in the NSW Supreme Court.

Last month, justice Anna Mitchelmore ruled they impermissibly burdened the freedom of political communication implied in Australia’s constitution, saying they went “beyond what is necessary” to protect people entering and leaving places of worship.

That decision did not affect the offence of intentionally blocking, impeding, harassing, intimidating, or threatening a person accessing a place of worship.

Daley has defended the new bill as one that “strikes the right balance between protecting the community and the right to protest”.