Antipodean Resistance (AR) is an Australian

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 ...

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. Acc ...

. The group, formed in October 2016, uses the slogan "We're the Hitlers you've been waiting for" and makes use of

Nazi 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 ...

symbols such as the

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. I ...

and the

Nazi salute 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 ...

. AR'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, as ...

'' (death's 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 ...

and a swastika. Antipodean Resistance promotes and incites hatred and violence, distributing

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

and

antisemitic 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. Ant ...

posters and propaganda. In 2018 its website was shut down by its hosting provider.

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, has been monitoring the group since at least 2017.

History

Antipodean Resistance was formed on the now-defunct Iron March website, which was a

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 ...

website describing itself as a

fascist 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 the ...

social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...

, and which appears to have been home to many

white supremacists 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 s ...

neo-Nazis 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 other right-wing extremists. Members of the website formed groups such as

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 t ...

and Antipodean Resistance.

Racist vandalism

AR has attracted attention for its Nazi-inspired vandalism in major cities in Australia. It has targeted schools in Melbourne with significant ethnic minority populations, placing posters carrying the message "Keep Australia White" along with racial slurs targeting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 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 ...

Chinese Australians Chinese Australians () are Australians of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chines ...

and

African Australians African Australians refers to Australians who were born on the African continent and migrated to Australia, or who have or had an immediate ancestor who made such a migration. Large-scale immigration from Africa to Australia is only a recent ph ...

which were described as "vile and disgusting" by Victorian education minister

James Merlino James Anthony Merlino (born 19 August 1972) is an Australian retired politician who served as the member for Monbulk in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, as a member of the Labor Party. He served as Deputy Premier of Victoria and Minister ...

. The group also placed a series of

Chinese-language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

posters at universities threatening Chinese students with deportation.

Homophobic propaganda

In the lead-up to the

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in ...

AR targeted churches, universities and public places with homophobic propaganda linking same-sex marriage and paedophilia.

National Party of Australia ban

In 2018, the NSW Nationals unanimously adopted a resolution banning 22 people for life after an investigation into alleged infiltration by people with links to neo-Nazi and fascist groups. The resolution also banned any party member from joining a number of specific organisations, including Antipodean Resistance.

Membership

The membership of AR is reported to be very small. The group is only open to

young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...

white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

, who are "able to take a hit" for their beliefs. Members assume a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

in an attempt to remain anonymous. Media outlets have reported that AR have organised secret radicalisation camps in remote forests. AR has been banned from a number of social media and online hosting platforms.

Terrorism concerns

Several counter-terrorism experts have suggested authorities should focus more on far-right extremists such as Antipodean Resistance.

Anne Aly Anne Azza Aly (born Azza Mahmoud Fawzi Hosseini Ali el Serougi, 1967) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor member of the House of Representatives since the 2016 election, representing the electorate of Cowan in Western Australia ...

, the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

MP, in 2017 suggested that the group may turn to terrorism, stating "For a terrorist attack to succeed, it really only takes one person." She called for the group to be banned, stating "I would like to see some of these groups proscribed ... as terrorist and violent organisations." It was reported in 2017 that

, the Australian national security organisation, was monitoring the group, who were "willing to use violence to further their own interests."

References

{{White nationalism 2016 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 2016 Neo-Nazi organizations Neo-Nazism in Australia