A violent right-wing extremist network has been added to the country’s list of terrorist organisations as part of the federal government’s “zero tolerance” stance on terrorism.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Thursday announced the Nationalist Social Order, also known as Atomwaffen Division, would become the third far-right group added to the list, joining The Base and Sonnenkrieg Division.
Labor’s legal affairs spokesperson Mark Dreyfus welcomed the addition, though he said the recognition was well overdue.
The extremist hate group is known as a network of neo-Nazi supporters who wish to overthrow governments and start race wars in order to achieve a white ethnostate.
It is unclear whether the violent far-right group has established a presence within Australia.
The entirety of Palestinian nationalist group Hamas, including its social welfare wing, will also be added as a banned terrorist organisation.
The government had “zero tolerance for violence” as Ms Andrews announced the banning of the two groups along with six other violent extremist organisations.
“The views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply disturbing, and there is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies,” Ms Andrews told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“It’s vital that our laws not only target terrorist actions, and terrorists, but also the organisations that plan, finance and carry out these acts.”
Read the article by Sarah Basford Canales in the Mandurah Mail.