Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has reacted after federal election posters were defaced with swastikas, slamming it as an “obscene crime”.
A federal MP and candidate have been targeted by anti-Semites amid concerns neo-Nazi extremists are “ramping up their sickening campaign of harassment” in Melbourne.
Election campaign posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and independent Kooyong candidate Monique Ryan were defaced with swastikas.
Mr Frydenberg described the vandalism as an obscene crime that needs to stop.
“Swastikas are a reminder of a dark past and it’s our collective duty to say never again,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ms Ryan also called out the vandals, saying: “There’s no place for hatred in politics. We’re better than this.”
The shocking attacks come as Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, warned anti-Semitism was spreading in Melbourne.
“This is not just graffiti on a billboard — it is a repulsive and ugly assault on our democratic system and on our core principles, and I never I thought I’d say this, but this is becoming the norm,” he said.
“The vile stampede of neo-Nazi defacement that has defiled our city is reaching pitch fever and must be countered.
Read the article by Aneeka Simonis in the Herald Sun.