NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson has recently told a parliamentary inquiry into whether Nazi symbols should be banned, that the move could ‘backfire’.
The Crimes Amendment (Display of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2021 was previously referred to the parliamentary inquiry to determine its introduction.
The bill was introduced by the Hon Walt Secord MLC and seeks to prohibit the public display of Nazi symbols.
This is listed to include symbols of, or associated with, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, the Third Reich or NeoNazism.
The bill was discussed on 3 February 2022, where persons such as the Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dr Dvir Abramovich and Executive Director, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Dr Colin Rubenstein AM were present.
In his remarks at the hearing, Deputy Commissioner Hudson told the inquiry that banning the symbols may not be the right approach.
“When you force something underground it gains a certain mystique and attraction for certain individuals,” he said.
“We’re not dealing with people who are mainstream Australia, we have individuals who align themselves to extreme right-wing ideology.
“The type of individuals that we deal with, will certainly be attracted to the prohibition of this type of symbol.”
Despite this, he noted that new measures are certainly needed to address the rise in right-wing extremism.
“Any criticism I have of this bill is not in relation to its intent, but in relation to the mechanics of how it might operate,” he summarised.
Read the article by Poppy Morandin in Mondaq.