Australia to introduce national ban on Nazi symbols in effort to crack down on far-right groups
Australia has announced it will implement a nationwide ban on Nazi symbols in an effort to crack down on far-right organisations. Anyone found to be engaging in public displays of the swastika or SS symbols could face a year in prison. The laws will not include the Nazi salute, which will be up to state authorities to police.
Most Nazis symbols are already banned in many Australian states. The move comes amid a rise in far-right activities in Australia.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, while announcing the new legislation, emphasised, “Symbols that glorify the atrocities of the Holocaust have no place in Australia.” He further added, “We will not permit individuals to profit from the exhibition and sale of items that celebrate the Nazis.” The ban includes the trade and public exhibition of flags, armbands, T-shirts, insignia, and the dissemination of online symbols that promote Nazi ideology.
But the legislation allows for public displays of the Nazi symbols for academic, educational, artistic, literary, journalistic or scientific purposes.
The legislation has been carefully crafted to exclude the display of the swastika in a religious context – due to it being of spiritual significance as a symbol derived from the ancient hooked cross motif, which remains sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.