Far-right terrorism in Australia has been seen as an increasing threat since the late 2010s, with a number of

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

extremist individuals and groups, including

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post– World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

s and other

hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Accordin ...

s, becoming known to authorities, in particular the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vi ...

(ASIO) and the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. ...

(AFP). In early 2021 the first far-right

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied share ...

group was added to the list of

proscribed Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' ('' Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originate ...

terrorist groups, this group being the

Sonnenkrieg Division The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...

. The most notorious act of right-wing terrorism by an Australian took place in New Zealand in March 2019, with the

Christchurch mosque shootings On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...

. Apart from some

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

and other attacks targeting

Asian Australians Asian Australians refers to Australians of Asian ancestry, whether full or partial, including naturalised Australians who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants. At the 2021 census, the number of ancest ...

in the 1980s in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

, there have not as of 2021 been any serious attacks by

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

extremists on Australian soil, but ASIO takes the potential threat seriously based on its

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be d ...

(gathered by

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and other methods), noting that both the attack in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River ...

and the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...

have had an effect on the dissemination of extremists' ideologies. Definitions of extremism and terrorism vary, but for the purposes of this article, a revised consensus definition of terrorism by

Alex P. Schmid Alex Peter Schmid (born 1943) is a scholar in terrorism studies, who from 1999 to 2005 was Officer-in-Charge of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. He is particularly known for his work on t ...

is adopted. Australian far-right political parties and figures are excluded except insofar as a relationship between their actions or words and extremist individuals or groups with a propensity to violent action has been observed or recorded. The groups and individuals described are those seen by the authorities as the threat to the security of Australia, with the greatest focus on individuals as of 2021.

Definitions

Terrorism

Schmid's 2011 ''Revised Academic Consensus Definition of Terrorism'' was agreed after three rounds of consultations among experts in the field. The first of 12 points in his definition states: Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Researcher Miroslav Mares has pointed out, however, that "the line between street violence perpetrated by subcultural networks can quickly blur into terrorist violence".

Right-wing extremism

Right-wing extremism Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

is a broad term used to encompass a variety of

ideologies An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...

, including

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...

national socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

(Nazism),

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

, the common components of which are

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voti ...

anti-democracy Criticism of democracy has been a key part of democracy and its functions. As Josiah Ober explains, "the legitimate role of critics" of democracy may be difficult to define, but one "approach is to divide critics into 'good internal' critics ( ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

. In Australia, right-wing extremists often believe that there is a threat to some aspect of their existence or society, and then attribute the cause as a particular target group, such as an ethnic community or those who adhere to a different, usually

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political%20ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically in ...

ideology. They overexaggerate and spread feelings of danger, blaming the target group, and think that the only way to rid society of the danger is to remove the threat, often by violent means.

Background

20th century

Far-right violent extremist groups have existed in Australia since the early 20th century, but their activities and impact has been minimal. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

, there was an ex-soldiers'

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

movement in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...

known as the

New Guard The New Guard was an Australian fascist paramilitary organisation during the Great Depression. It was the largest and most successful fascist organisation in Australian history. The New Guard, known for its violent agitation against Premier o ...

, a short-lived

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organisation, which emerged from the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

-based Old Guard in 1931, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...

, and regarded by some as the most successful fascist organisation in Australian history. The

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

, or League of National Security (LNS), formed in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

around 1931 and attracted some former members of the New Guard, but the far right only became a stronger force in the late 1930s, with the

Australia First Movement The Australia First Movement was a fascist movement, founded in October 1941. It grew out of the Rationalist Association of New South Wales and the Victorian Socialist Party, and was led by former Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen and Adela P ...

, who believed in a

white Australia The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting in ...

Alexander Rud Mills Alexander Rud Mills (1885 – 8 April 1964) was an Australian barrister and author, interned in 1942 for his Nazi sympathies and fascist beliefs. He was also a prominent Odinist, one of the earliest proponents of the rebirth of Germanic Neopag ...

was a vocal supporter, who also believed in "a racial interpretation of

Odinism Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...

". In 1941, plans to assassinate prominent Australians and to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

sites in Australia were discovered in the possession of

n members. After World War II, the

Australian League of Rights The Australian League of Rights is a far-right and antisemitic political organisation in Australia. It was founded in Adelaide, South Australia, by Eric Butler in 1946, and organised nationally in 1960. It inspired groups like the Canadian Le ...

(a group still in existence), led by Eric Butler, became active. Butler believed in the existence of a " Zionist Occupation Government", which controlled governments across the world, including that of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. This group tried to infiltrate mainstream political parties. In the 1960s came the Australian National Socialist Party (re-constituted as the

National Socialist Party of Australia The National Socialist Party of Australia (NSPA) was a minor Australian neo-Nazi party that operated between 1967 and early 1970s. It was formed in 1967 as a more moderate breakaway from the Australian National Socialist Party (ANSP). The NSP ...

in 1968), and from the late 1970s, ASIO was monitoring groups such as the Safari 8, the Legion of the Frontiersmen of the Commonwealth, and the Australian Youth Coalition, but they did not last long. In the 1970s and early 1980s the National Front of Australia and the Australian National Alliance emerged, and from the early 1980s, National Action.PDF
/ref> Violence by the far-right did not appear in Australia until the 1980s. National Action members carried out attacks in Sydney, including a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

. In 1984, the Australian Nationalist Movement (ANM) broke away from National Action, considering National Action not sufficiently anti-Semitic and embracing of

neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post– World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

, and ANM members started a campaign which included violent assaults and fire-bombings. Australia " id not experienceanything like the levels of right-wing extremism and violence that impacted Europe and North America in the 1990s" (2005), but some networks of

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

s, and the "

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in t ...

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

, including groups like the Southern Cross Hammerskins,

Combat 18 Combat 18 (C18 or 318) is a neo-Nazi terrorist organisation that was founded in 1992. It originated in the United Kingdom, with ties to movements in Canada and the United States. Since then it has spread to other countries, including Germany. ...

, Blood & Honour Australia, and the Women of the Southern Legion harboured ideologies centred on racial identity.

21st century

Southern Cross Hammerskins, Combat 18, and Blood & Honour Australia continued to be active in Australia, and new ones have been founded since 2000. Right-wing extremism began to increase around the world from around 2009, partly in response to

jihadism Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

(militant movements rooted in

political Islam Political Islam is any interpretation of Islam as a source of political identity and action. It can refer to a wide range of individuals and/or groups who advocate the formation of state and society according to their understanding of Islamic pri ...

Islamism Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...

and seen as an existential threat by some), but more often related to perceived threats to white culture posed by immigration. In this climate, Australian chapters of internationally based groups were founded, such as the Australian Defence League (originally an offshoot of the

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...

) and Right Wing Resistance (from New Zealand). Since around 2015 (when far-right groups stoked protests against the building of a mosque in Bendigo), the threat from far-right violent extremist groups has been increasing. Around 30–40% of ASIO's

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

work involved far-right individuals and groups in late 2020, an increase of 10–15% on the years before 2016. Although their capabilities are assessed as being on a smaller scale than the far-right extremists in Europe and the US, the ideologies are similar. Worldwide, individuals enable and encourage each other in online networks. White extremist attacks in the US, UK and Europe inspired the Christchurch shooter, Brenton Tarrant, and his actions on 15 March 2019 have inspired others around the world. Founder of the

Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...

Gavin McInnes Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster and far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'', on the subscription-based streaming media platform ...

was refused a visa to visit Australia in November 2018. Australian right-wing extremists celebrated the

2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, and experts warned of an increased threat of violence by

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

s since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two government

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian politician, who represented the Division of Hughes as a Liberal Party and later United Australia Party MP from 2010 to his defeat at the 2022 Australian federal election. Kelly initially ...

and

George Christensen George Robert Christensen (born 30 June 1978) is a former Australian politician and former journalist who was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, as the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Dawson. H ...

, had aired

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

relating to the Capitol attack on social media, and the refusal of Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

to reprimand them was seen as "dangerous" by one expert on violent extremism.

Current situation

In its 2019–2020

annual report An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance. ...

, ASIO rates Australia's national terrorism threat level as "probable", based on the assessment of credible intelligence. It states that "extremists such as neo-Nazis represent a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security. The 2019 Christchurch attack continues to be drawn on for inspiration by right-wing extremists worldwide", and says that these groups are attracting younger adherents of their ideologies. The extremists exploit the social and economic disruption brought about by the

to engage with others online. It says that 2020 "saw an increased growth in ASIO investigations related to extreme right-wing groups, individuals and emerging ideologies", with far-right extremist individuals comprising "around a third of all ASIO counter-terrorism investigative subjects". During this time too, for the second time, authorities disrupted planned terrorism in Australia linked to an individual with an extreme right-wing ideology.PDF
CC-BY icon

Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. A report published in March 2021, prepared jointly by the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR) in the UK and Hedayah, a research group based in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

, and compiled with the policy assistance of the

Australian Department of Home Affairs The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multi ...

, says: "Australian chapters of more fringe neo-Nazi cells

ave been ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...

actively engaged in campaigns of radical right terror and violence". It also reported that since the Christchurch attack, extremist groups have "become more explicitly anti-Semitic, aggressively racist and white supremacist". Of the various groups named in the report, four have been proscribed in other countries, but not in Australia:

, which linked to the shooting of

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, in ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 2011 (proscribed in Canada, 2019; Germany, 2020),

Blood and Honour Blood & Honour is a Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi music promotion network and right-wing extremist political group founded in the United Kingdom by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane in 1987. It is composed of White Nationalism, White Nationalists an ...

(Canada, 2019), Generation Identity (France, 2021) and the Proud Boys (Canada, 2021). One of the researchers later named

Antipodean Resistance Antipodean Resistance (AR) is an Australian neo-Nazi hate group. The group, formed in October 2016, uses the slogan "We're the Hitlers you've been waiting for" and makes use of Nazi symbols such as the swastika and the Nazi salute. AR's logo ...

and the

National Socialist Network The National Socialist Network (NSN) is an Australian neo-Nazi political organisation allegedly formed from two far-right organisations, the Lads Society and the Antipodean Resistance, in 2020. The organisation, based in Melbourne, claims to ...

as local groups of concern. The latter group has been photographed in disguise at The Grampians, near

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ...

and in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Countering extremism

Joint Counter Terrorism Teams are run collaboratively by the AFP, state and territory police forces and ASIO. The AFP leads the National Disruption Group, which works with Australian communities and a number of other government agencies "to combat violent extremism and the radicalisation of Australians". Various agencies have reported not paying enough attention to right-wing extremism before the Christchurch massacre. The deputy commissioner of

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

Ross Guenther told a March 2021 police briefing that they had been focusing on

Islamist extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic und ...

owing to the threats by supporters of

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...

in Australia, and that the Christchurch terrorist had been able to slip under the radar. However, since then, the national and state agencies have been more focused on far-right extremism, with the greatest threat posed by individuals rather than groups. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is due to report to the

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in April 2021 from its "Inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia". There have been calls to follow the example of Australia's other partners in the Five Eyes security collaboration and proscribe more of the far-right extremist groups. In March 2021 the first far-right extremist group was added to the list of proscribed terrorist groups, this group being the

, bringing the total to 27.

Local programs

There is only one significant program to counter the far-right extremist narrative in Australia. This is Community Action for Preventing Extremism (CAPE), funded by Multicultural NSW, an agency of the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

, and run by All Together Now, a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation that promotes racial equality. The program was established in 2012 and initially called Exit White Power.

Extremist groups

Historical

Australian Nationalist Movement

The Australian Nationalist Movement (ANM), later reborn as the Australian Nationalist Worker's Union (ANWU), was a

n neo-Nazi,

extreme right-wing Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

group founded and led by Peter Joseph "Jack" van Tongeren. In 1989, Van Tongeren staged a series of racially motivated

attacks, targeting businesses owned by

. He was found guilty of 53 crimes and sentenced to 18 years. After serving 13 years in prison for his crimes, Van Tongeren resumed anti-Asian activities upon his release in 2002. In February 2004 three Chinese restaurants, synagogues and Asian-owned businesses where firebombed, plastered with posters and daubed with swastikas. Five men were arrested for being involved in the attacks. The police also identified a plot to harm WA Attorney-General

Jim McGinty James Andrew McGinty (born 22 September 1949) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Le ...

and his family. In August 2004, Van Tongeren and his co-accused Matthew Billing faced the courts for the

attacks. After a medical episode, Van Tongeren was released from jail on the condition that he leave Western Australia. In 2007 the ANM/ANWU was reported to have been disbanded."Supremacist leader in court"
''The Age''. AAP. 7 August 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2015

Active groups

Antipodean Resistance

Antipodean Resistance (AR) is an Australian neo-Nazi group. Formed in October 2016, the group's flag features a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. ...

. The group's logo features the black sun and

Totenkopf ''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for the skull and crossbones symbol. The "skull and crossbones" symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, a ...

(skull head) with an

Akubra Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the compa ...

hat, a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom ('' Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

and a

. Antipodean Resistance promotes and incites hatred and violence, as illustrated in its

anti-Jewish Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and anti-homosexual posters, with graphic images of shooting Jews and homosexuals in the head. One poster called to "Legalise the execution of Jews." In 2017, it was reported that

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and ...

, the Australian national security organisation, was monitoring the group, who were "willing to use violence to further their own interests". Members of the Antipodean Resistance and the Lads Society organised the creation of a new group, the

, in late 2020, and Lads leader

Thomas Sewell Thomas Sewell may refer to: * Tom Sewell (basketball) (born 1962), American shooting guard * Tom Sewell (cricketer, born 1806) (1806–1888), English cricketer * Tom Sewell (cricketer, born 1830) (1830–1871), English cricketer, son of Tom Sewell s ...

was one of the organisers of a 2021 group trip to the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

in January 2021 (see below).

Australian Defence League

The Australian Defence League (ADL) is a neo-Nazi

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...

. The gang is anti-Islam, and has been involved in making terrorist threats, abusing, stalking and

doxxing Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this in ...

Muslim Australians. The gang was founded in

in 2009 by

recidivist Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

criminal Ralph Cerminara, who has a significant criminal record, as an offshoot of the

National Socialist Network

The National Socialist Network (NSN) was formed by members of the Lads Society and Antipodean Resistance in late 2020. It is a

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metrop ...

-based neo-Nazi group that claimed in October 2020 to be active in

, Melbourne,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...

and several regional cities, but which would not reveal how many members or associates the group has. It has vowed to bring about a "white revolution" and has openly described

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

as "subhuman and monkeys". They also engage in

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and other racist behaviour. Its leader is

, a convicted criminal, an ex-Australian army soldier and neo-Nazi, who is also leader of the Lads Society. The group helped to organise a group of about 38 young white men who paraded Nazi symbolism and shouted offensive slogans in the

region over the

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jac ...

weekend in January 2021 (see below). In March 2021,

's counter-terrorism command charged Sewell with affray, recklessly causing injury, and unlawful assault after he allegedly punched a security guard working for the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

in Melbourne's Docklands. The alleged assault took place prior to the broadcast of an '' A Current Affair'' report about Sewell's organisation. On 14 May 2021, Sewell was arrested by counter-terrorism police. He faces a number of charges, including an alleged

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the per ...

Taggerty Taggerty is a town in central Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Thornton Road. The Acheron River also crosses the highway at Taggerty. At the , Taggerty and the surrounding area had a population o ...

Sonnenkrieg Division

The Sonnenkrieg Division (''Sonnenkrieg'' being German for "sun war") is a neo-Nazi group that is the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

-based branch of the

Atomwaffen Division The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...

, and it maintains its links to the Atomwaffen Division by e-mail and

online chat room The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from r ...

discussion as well as by its use of similar names and its distribution of similar propaganda. It surfaced in December 2018, when it was revealed that members of the group had suggested on the group's Discord server that

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

was a "

race traitor Race traitor is a pejorative reference to a person who is perceived as supporting attitudes or positions thought to be against the supposed interests or well-being of that person's own race. The term is the source of the name of a quarterly magaz ...

" who should be shot for marrying

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

, who is of mixed race; that police officers should be raped and killed; and that white women who date non-whites should be hanged. Some suspected members are thought to have been involved in a previous neo-Nazi group, the System Resistance Network (one of the aliases of National Action), which was linked to various acts of racial violence and

in the UK. On 2 March 2021, Australian Home Affairs Minister

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives s ...

accepted an

recommendation to label the Sonnenkrieg Division a "terrorist organisation", citing their reach into Australia. The group was officially proscribed in Australia on 22 March 2021.

The Base

The Base is an American neo-Nazi

white separatist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

hate group, which has been actively recruiting in Australia, Canada and other countries. In late 2019 and early 2020, secret recordings were made of some of The Base's recruitment activities. The tapes include their attempts to recruit several Australians, including a 17-year-old teenager and a

n man, Dean Smith, who ran for parliament for

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before sufferi ...

party. The group's founder, Rinaldo Nazzaro, known online as "Roman Wolf" and "Norman Spear", was personally involved in active recruitment. An Australian who went by the name of Volkskrieger was a key person in the recruitment drive, which focused on finding people with legal access to firearms and security licences. The group has been designated a terrorist entity by Canada and Australia.

True Blue Crew

The True Blue Crew (TBC) is an Australian militant white supremacist group. Members and supporters have been linked to

right-wing terrorism Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently, it is motivated by neo-Nazism, anti-communi ...

and

vigilantism Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

, and members have been arrested with weapons and on terrorism-related charges. Experts who have studied the group say it appears to be "committed to violence". The True Blue Crew was formed in 2015 as a splinter group from the anti-Islamic

Reclaim Australia Reclaim Australia is a far-right Australian nationalist protest group which is associated with nationalist and neo-Nazi hate groups. The group was formed in 2015, holding street rallies in cities across Australia to protest against Islam. It ...

group, along with a number of small far-right

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

groups such as the United Patriots Front. In December 2019 a member of True Blue Crew, Phillip Galea, was convicted of terrorism charges relating to planned bombings of the

Victorian Trades Hall Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council. It is located on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, just north of the Melbourne central business district, in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Vi ...

and other left wing organisations in Melbourne.

Minor and/or defunct groups

Right Wing Resistance

Right Wing Resistance Australia, an openly

group affiliated to the Right Wing Resistance group founded in New Zealand, was involved in the Bendigo mosque protests in 2015. An "official blog for the Australian chapter of Right Wing Resistance", headed "Right Wing Resistance Australia" and "RWR Australia", with entries published in August 2011, but with no further activity, still exists . It self-describes as "an organized unified resistance movement against mass immigration, the Dilution of our European Culture and Pride, and the current multicultural agenda created by the current government networks designed to destroy our colonial rights and identity", and cites its function as "to recruit like minded individuals and groups into an organization of active men". The group was thought to be "possibly defunct" in April 2019; however, it was reported in November 2019 to have chapters in Australia, Sweden and Scotland. The

Australia First Party The Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, often shortened to the Australia First Party (AFP), is an Australian far-right political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell. The policies of Australia First have been described as ultranat ...

has a photo of three men holding a black flag saying Right Wing Resistance Australia, with "SC" and "14" on the left- and right-hand sides of it. One of these men is Ethan Tilling. He, along with other members of RWR, had gone to Ukraine to join forces fighting alongside the neo-Nazi

Azov Battalion The Special Operations Detachment "Azov" (), also known as the Azov Regiment ( uk, Полк «Азов», translit=Polk "Azov") and formerly the Azov Battalion ( uk, батальйон «Азов», translit=Batalion "Azov"), is a unit of the N ...

during the

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succe ...

. Phillip Galea, former member of the True Blue Crew who was convicted of plotting terrorist attacks in December 2019, had been a member or supporter of Right Wing Resistance.

Others

The Patriotic Youth League (a wing of the

),. was mainly active in the northern suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, and played a large role in the

2005 Cronulla riots The 2005 Cronulla riots were a race riot in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It began in the beachside suburb of Cronulla on 11 December, and spread over to additional suburbs the next few nights. The riots were triggered by an event the p ...

. It disbanded in 2006, but was reincarnated as the Eureka Youth League in 2010. ASIO monitors the

group because of its potential for violence. There is some cross-over between the two groups whose adherents call themselves

Freemen on the Land The freeman on the land movement (sometimes spelled freeman-on-the-land or abbreviated as FOTL), also known as the freemen of the land, the freemen movement, or simply freemen, is a loose group of individuals who adhere to pseudolaw, pseudolegal ...

(FOTL) and Sovereign Citizens (among other denominations), whose core beliefs may be broadly defined as "see ngthe state as a corporation with no authority over free citizens". The

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands ( ...

identified "sovereign citizens" as a potential terrorist threat in 2015, estimating that there were about 300 sovereign citizens in the state at the time. Sovereign Citizens from the US have undertaken speaking tours to and Australia, with some support among farmers struggling with drought and other hardships. A group called United Rights Australia (U R Australia) has a Facebook presence, and there are other websites promulgating Freemen/Sovereign Citizen ideas. Other potentially violent groups active in Australia include the Southern Cross Hammerskins and the Crazy Whiteboys (a violent anti-Asian, anti-Semitic and anti- African Australian group founded in 2009 in Melbourne). Far-right groups whose profiles have varied include Identity Australia, the Nationalist Australian Alternative, Australian Traditionalism, and the New National Action.

Incidents

Arrests

In August 2016, Phillip Galea was charged with several terrorist offences, the first Australian right-wing extremist to be charged with terrorism. Galea had conducted "surveillance" of "

premises" and planned to carry out bombings. Explosive ingredients were found at his home. Galea had links with organisations such as

(C18) and the United Patriots Front (UPF). On 5 December 2019, a jury found Galea guilty of planning and preparing a terror attack. He was sentenced to prison for 12 years in November 2020. In 2017 neo-Nazi Michael James Holt, aged 26, who had threatened to carry out a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

attack and considered

Westfield Tuggerah Westfield Tuggerah is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Tuggerah on the Central Coast. It is the second largest shopping centre on the Central Coast after Erina Fair. Transport Tuggerah Station is 200 metres away from Westfield Tugg ...

as a target, was convicted after pleading guilty to several firearm manufacture and possession charges. He had manufactured home-made guns,

knuckle duster Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

s and

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the proj ...

s. He was regarded as a loner of low-intelligence with poor mental health who was easily radicalised. In April 2021, police raided the homes of several men associated with the National Socialist Network in Adelaide. One was arrested for the possession of an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

as well as instructions for manufacturing explosives and prohibited and dangerous weapons, while a second was arrested for possession of extremist material. On the same day, Tom Sewell, the leader of NSN, said in a video that 15 men in his group had been targeted by

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...

(SAPOL), counter-terrorism and the Australian Federal Police.

Grampians neo-Nazi trip (2021)

On the

weekend in January 2021, the

, a new group created by members of the Antipodean Resistance and the Lads Society under Lads leader Thomas Sewell, were observed parading Nazi paraphernalia and harassing bystanders at several location around the

Grampians National Park The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated betwe ...

in Victoria. One

Halls Gap Halls Gap is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located on Grampians Road, adjacent to the Grampians National Park, in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area. The town is set in the Fyans Valley at the foo ...

resident said: "There were 40 white males, many with skinheads, some chanting ‘white power’". They were reported to have chanted "

sieg heil The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

" and "white power", burnt a cross, and posted stickers saying "Australia For The White Man". Concerned citizens reported them to police, who confronted the group and later collected video evidence from security videos.

's Counter Terrorism Command and ASIO were notified, and the incident was widely covered in the media. One anti-Semitism expert called for the group to be branded a terrorist group, saying "We know that there is a direct link between incitement, between vilification … and shooting rampages that we saw not just in Christchurch, but in other places".

South Australia (2022)

After a group of

s had posted photographs of themselves giving

fascist salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a salute, gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it ...

s outside the

Adelaide Holocaust Museum The Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (AHMSEC) is a museum housed in the historic Fennescey House at 33 Wakefield Street, in Adelaide city centre, just east of Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga. The museum Fennescey Hou ...

, concerns were raised about the activities of groups such as the

in South Australia. On 2 September 2022, SA Minister for Multicultural Affairs

Zoe Bettison Zoe Lee Bettison is an Australian politician representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Ramsay for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since the 2012 Ramsay by-election. Bettison has served as the Mini ...

said that there would be a Parliamentary inquiry into "neo-Nazi symbols, the activities of extremist groups, discrimination faced by targeted groups and the prohibition on symbols in other states".

Legislation and enforcement

Federal laws against terrorism are contained in Part 5.3 of the ''

Criminal Code Act 1995 The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime. Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to ...

''. For the majority of counter-terrorism laws, the Department of Home Affairs has policy responsibility and the Attorney-General's Department has administrative responsibility. The

states and territories of Australia The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...

also have a range of acts pertaining to terrorist offences, such as the ''Terrorism (High Risk Offenders) Act 2017'' (NSW).