Adelaide’s neo-nazis are more emboldened than at any time since the 1990s – and this time the movement is being driven by young extremists, writes Michael McGuire. But why now?
There was a time back in the late 1980s and into the 1990s when Adelaide had something of a problem with neo-nazis.
Groups such as the National Front would have little rallies, calling for Asian immigration to be banned or for Japanese investment to be outlawed.
Another lot called the Adelaide Institute specialised in denying the Holocaust happened.
It was all the usual mishmash of racism, conspiracy theory and absence of facts or reasoned thought that define these kind of far-right groups.
National Action gatherings with skinheads giving the Hitler salute made the front page of the paper. In truth, the rallies were not well attended, but they carried with them the threat of violence and intimidation.
Sometimes, the violence was real. In 1994, a group of about 20 nazis marched down Rundle Mall shouting “sieg heil” and “heil Hitler’’ and bashing people they thought were of ethnic origin. An MP’s office was shot up. Racist graffiti and flyers were common in parts of Adelaide.
But it all died down as the ’90s evolved.
Read the article by Michael McGuire in The Advertiser.