A Victorian inquiry has warned that far-right extremist groups’ access to guns is of “significant concern”, calling for a crackdown on ownership to be considered and a new national database of firearms license holders to combat the threat of an attack.
The parliamentary inquiry into far-right extremism says the state government believes there are two dominant groups active in Victoria, but police have warned that a lone-wolf attack was more likely to occur than one organised by a known group.
The inquiry’s final report said the re-emergence of far-right extremism began from around 2015 and had been exacerbated by the pandemic, with an increase in children engaging in unsupervised internet usage during lockdowns exposing them to extremist groups and radicalisation attempts.
The Victorian Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, said the inquiry “laid bare” the rising threat of far-right extremism and challenged governments to take the threat seriously.
Ratnam said it was vital that governments moved beyond a law and order framework to tackle extremism.
“This report importantly highlights what we can do before that threat grows and poses a real threat to our communities,” she said.
The report made numerous recommendations to reduce the risk of an attack, including that the Victorian government review the state’s Firearms Act to determine if the “fit and proper person test” should include members of violent extremist groups.
It also recommended the government use national cabinet to advocate for a national database of registered firearms and firearm license holders.
The Reason party’s leader, Fiona Patten, who chaired the inquiry, said all levels of government had a role to play in preventing far-right extremism.
“Rather than constantly being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, we can create fences for our community to keep it safe,” Patten said.
The report, which made 12 recommendations and 46 findings, found the increasing focus on young people as a target of radicalisation was of significant concern. It also concluded that multicultural communities, women and LGBTIQ+ people were target groups due to the racism and scapegoating used by far-right ideologies.
The report concluded the threat of far-left extremism was not equivalent to the threat of far-right extremism but noted that the extremist landscape is “continually evolving”.
However, in a minority report, the opposition argued that the findings and recommendations of the inquiry should be read in reference to all forms of extremism and not just far-right ideologies.
Pandemic increased exposure to extremism, report says
The inquiry found the pandemic increased people’s exposure to far-right extremist ideologies. It also concluded that inequality, social isolation and economic insecurity – which were exacerbated during Covid – correlated to a susceptibility to extremist ideologies.
Victoria’s legal and social issues committee was tasked with probing how the pandemic fuelled the growth of far-right extremist groups, recruitment tactics and the risks posed to the state’s multicultural communities.
It was called amid a recent emergence of extremist groups into public view, including neo-Nazis gathering in the Grampians in early 2021 and gallows erected outside state parliament while pandemic legislation was debated last year.
The inquiry, which began public hearings in June, was called amid a recent emergence of extremist groups into public view, including neo-Nazis gathering in the Grampians and gallows erected outside state parliament as pandemic legislation was debated last year.
But the report found that while a small number of far-right extremist groups and individuals attended rallies against Covid restrictions and vaccine mandates last year, extremist ideologies was not the primary motivating factor for most in attendance.
The report concluded most people were motivated by “personal grievances” relating to the impacts of the Victorian government’s Covid restrictions.
It recommended that in future public health emergencies, the Victorian government build on its outreach and communication during the pandemic to ensure information is timely, accessible and easy to interpret.
In June, Victoria became the first Australian jurisdiction to legislate a ban on the public display of the Nazi swastika, which comes into effect in December.
