What we know about the dangerous neo-Nazi group police are now investigating over white supremacist chants
What we know about the dangerous neo-Nazi group police are now investigating over white supremacist chants
Police are investigating a neo-Nazi group, National Socialist Network, after its members gathered in Halls Gap, Victoria, where they were heard shouting ‘white power’, calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan, and Nazi-saluting locals.
What happened at Halls Gap?
According to news reports, locals from the western Victorian town saw around 30 white supremacists preparing to hike The Grampians. The group chanted ‘Ku Klux Klan’, ‘white power’ and ‘Heil Hitler’, over a two-and-a-half hour period, said locals. Some used the Nazi salute, or had Nazi tattoos. Stickers and other branding labelled the group as the National Socialist Network.
What do we know about the National Socialist Network?
Formed by two existing far-right groups, the Lads Society and Antipodean Resistance, the National Socialist Network calls for the return to “White Australia” and spreads anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The group shares photos online of its gatherings, where members are often seen using the Nazi salute and wearing black face coverings.
How dangerous are they?
ASIO recently said that 40% of its resources were being used on right-wing extremist groups, up from 10-15% of resources before 2016. Victoria Police said they were “equipped and well-prepared” to respond to extremism as needed, but did not say whether any charges would be laid following the National Socialist Network’s Halls Gap outing. In recent days, both Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have warned that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Australia.
“We do not need to wait for a Christchurch [terror attack] in Melbourne to act… Who would have thought in 2021 Australia, in a week in which we commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the modern face of Hitler would reveal itself in our state without consequence?”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, a civil rights organisation