Australia plans to introduce new laws banning the public display and sale of Nazi symbols and paraphernalia as the country sees a rise in the far-right movement.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said on Thursday that the government would introduce laws criminalising the display and sale of Nazi motifs, such as the swastika – one of the most recognisable symbols of Nazi propaganda – and the lightning bolt insignia of the SS (Schutzstaffel), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party.
The law will ban such symbols from use on flags, armbands or printed on clothes. A ban on the Nazi salute will not be added to federal law, instead it would be up to individual states to make that decision, Dreyfus said.
“There is no place in Australia for symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust,” Dreyfus said. The legislation will be presented to parliament next week and is expected to pass with opposition support.
Australia’s spy agency has been warning that far-right groups are on the rise in Australia and that they had become more organised and visible.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
