Nazis have existed in Australian suburbia going back at least as far as the 1980s. The early 90s movie Romper Stomper is testament to that. But these groups were fractured and unorganised. And whilst committing the odd act of vandalism or violence, they remained on the fringes with little impact.
But the 2020s are a different time. And the fact that neo-Nazis have twice appeared on the steps of Melbourne’s Parliament House of late, to explicitly rally in front of the public and call for changes that align with their far-right ideology dating back to the 1930s, is a stark reminder of this.
The overt expression of adherence to Nazism in the form of a public rally is new to the Australian setting. And it comes after decades of global far-right networking over the internet, which intensified during the pandemic, and has now emboldened neo-Nazis to stand as a cohesive group.
Prior to these recent public expressions of Nazism, the individuals involved had been mobilising but as participants in demonstrations organised by white nationalist groups that began emerging midway through last decade, such as Reclaim Australia and the United Patriots Front.
The National Socialist Network is the group that’s been so bold as to stage the open demonstrations in Melbourne. Established in 2020, the NSN is now the nation’s most prominent neo-Nazi organisation, as it serves as an umbrella group incorporating lone extremists from elsewhere.
Read the article by Paul Gregoire from Sydney Criminal Lawyers.