Australia has identified a neo-Nazi network as the second organization to be banned under its new law that criminalizes hate groups and support for them. The group, formerly known as the National Socialist Network and sometimes called White Australia, announced it would disband after the government passed the legislation in January. The law was introduced in response to the antisemitic attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach in December, which left 15 people dead.
Government Action Against Hate Groups
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Friday that the National Socialist Network had changed its name but continued to engage in behavior meeting the thresholds for the legislation. The ban, effective from the end of Friday, makes it illegal to support, fund, train, recruit, join, or direct the group, including if it reforms under a new name. Violators face up to 15 years in prison.
The Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir was the first banned under the hate speech law in March. Both organizations were publicly identified as primary targets of the policy. The new law allows hate groups that do not meet Australia's definition of a terrorist organization to be banned, part of a raft of measures to curtail antisemitic hatred after the Bondi massacre.
Designation Process and Criteria
The national security agency ASIO decides whether an organization meets the threshold to be designated as a hate group, and a government minister must approve the prohibition. Criteria include behavior that could increase the risk of violence and advocacy for or engagement in hate crimes.
Burke acknowledged that the law would not stop bigoted individuals from holding horrific ideologies but would prevent groups from organizing, meeting, and holding hate rallies.
Former Leader Faces Charges
The former group's leader, Thomas Sewell, is awaiting trial on charges related to an attack on an Indigenous protest camp in Melbourne last August. Black-clad men stormed the camp during an anti-immigration rally, injuring three people. Sewell has pleaded not guilty to five counts. An independent inquiry into the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, where 51 Muslims were killed, found that Sewell had attempted to recruit the gunman to another white nationalist group two years before the attack.
Burke dismissed claims that the National Socialist Network had disbanded, despite a January Telegram post saying it would dissolve to avoid arrests. The minister said the government was prepared for legal challenges from outlawed groups.
Previous Antisemitism Measures
In 2024, before the Bondi shooting, Australia enacted a nationwide ban on Nazi salutes and the display of swastikas and other Nazi symbols, following a wave of antisemitic crimes targeting synagogues, Jewish businesses, and schools in Sydney and Melbourne.
