Matthew Gruter, a South African national whose visa was cancelled after attending a neo-Nazi rally in Sydney, was detained by immigration agents in a pre-dawn operation and taken to Villawood detention centre. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed the detention occurred between 4am and 5am on Tuesday, stating Gruter would remain at the centre until deported.
Burke defended his decision to cancel Gruter's visa, saying, “What could be a clearer example of someone showing they don’t care about cohesion in Australia, than turning up to a Nazi rally?” The rally, organised by the group White Australia (formerly the National Socialist Network), took place outside the New South Wales state parliament and included chants of the Hitler Youth phrase “blood and honour”.
Gruter's organisation has raised $20,000 via a fundraising page to support him and his family, and claims he will “fight to remain in Australia via every possible avenue”. However, Burke noted that because the visa was cancelled by ministerial decision, Gruter has “very limited” options to appeal, though he could still take the matter to court.
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam, backed Burke's decision, saying, “There is no room in Australia for clowns like that who want to come here and preach hate – go back to where you came from, frankly.” Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong also condemned the views, stating, “Freedom of speech does not extend to being divisive and hateful about people in our community.”
