Following the disruptions and heckling that occurred at Melbourne’s ANZAC Day Dawn Service during a Welcome to Country acknowledgement, a prominent neo-Nazi group is allegedly attempting to forge a new political party in order to bypass new anti-villification laws.
The group is currently recruiting new members for their new political party, and is planning on running in the next Federal election, per Sydney Morning Herald.
Neo-Nazi organiser and leader of the National Socialist Network, Thomas Sewell, is currently under strict bail conditions that bars him from contacting other members of his party.
Sewell is currently under strict bail conditions due to his involvement in an Australia Day rally. (Source: AAP/Con Chronis)
National Socialist Network’s website and social channels have also been taken down, following Sewell’s arrest over his involvement in an Invasion Day rally in Adelaide.
The Age has reported that Sewell has “quietly” launched a new website — signed off by Sewell — and is currently directing members to join its Telegram group and join its new political party.
The group hopes to apply to the Australian Election Commission (AEC) so that they can form an official federal party, and needs to reach 1500 verified members to qualify. The group is hoping to achieve this goal within one year.
In a webinar presentation in February, Sewell said that the group was being “smashed by authorities” due to new state laws outlawing Nazi symbols and the one-arm salute.
“Our plan ultimately is to challenge the swastika by incorporating it in some capacity into our organisation,” Sewell said.
“Then it is political communication.”
Neo-Nazis marching in Melbourne in 2023. (Source: The Age/Chris Hopkins)
This news follows an incident at an ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Melbourne on Friday, which saw protestors heckling at Burnurong and Gunditjmara elder Uncle Mark Brown during a Welcome to Country acknowledgement.
The protest saw around six to 10 men yelling: “We don’t need to be welcomed to our country”, before the audience drowned them out with applause.
The booing was allegedly led by a “known neo-Nazi”, veterans’ affairs minister Matt Keogh told ABC Radio on Friday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incident as a “disgrace” and “an act of low cowardice”.
Albanese called the ANZAC Day heckling incident “disgraceful”. (Source: Getty Images)
Extremism expert Josh Roose told The Age that Australian neo-Nazis have been “successful” despite their small size and impact on politics, stating that they will “exploit” every loophole they can.
“They’re following in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler, [even though] they have zero chance of actually getting elected, but they’ll exploit every loophole they can,” Roose said.
During a press conference on Saturday morning, Albanese stated that he would “condemn” far-right ideology at “every opportunity”, per SBS News.
“We know the consequences of this,” he said.
“We need to take this seriously, these threats. Because they are real.”
The post Australian Neo-Nazis Allegedly Forming New Political Party To Get Around The Law appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
