Legislative Assembly passes Nazi salute prohibition

In his second reading speech Anthony Carbines, Police and Crime Prevention Minister said the intent of the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill 2023 is to 'send a clear message denouncing Nazi ideology and the use of its gestures and symbols to intimidate and incite hate'.  

‘In developing this bill, we spoke with a number of Holocaust survivors who told us that the rise of neo-Nazism impacts the whole community, and that antisemitism is often a microcosm of broader hatred toward other targeted groups,’ he said. 

‘This bill is one measure to help promote tolerance and inclusion across the community and prevent the dissemination of these hateful symbols and gestures,’ he told the house. 

Michael O’Brien, Shadow Attorney-General indicated in his speech that the opposition would be supporting the bill, but moving a number of amendments to refine the definition of a ‘Nazi gesture’ and to clarify police power to give a direction to a person to cease performing a Nazi gesture. 

He also addressed the argument of civil liberties organisation Liberty Victoria that the proposed prohibition of symbols and gestures ‘is a band-aid solution to a much deeper societal problem resulting in the re-emergence of extremism’. 

‘We need to legislate for the world as it is, not as we would want it to be, because we have to be practical. We do have a problem in this state with neo-Nazism and antisemitism,’ he said.

Paul Hamer, Member for Box Hill, noted a range of incidents in Melbourne in 2023 where the Nazi salute was performed, including on the steps of the state Parliament.

'Having those incidents at a public rally on a weekend, on the steps of Parliament, is the most confronting and in-your-face way of trying to demonstrate this hatred and vilification,' he said.

“ We do have a problem in this state with neo-Nazism and antisemitism. While I understand the concerns of organisations such as Liberty Victoria, I do not think that education and addressing root causes is enough. ”

Michael O'Brien, Member for Malvern

David Southwick, Member for Caulfield said while passing legislation is important, legislation alone cannot address antisemitism.

‘If you think about where we are now, the fact that we are still in this Parliament talking about banning symbols and talking about banning Nazi salutes and that we have certain individuals – as few as they may be but as extreme as they may be, hateful and hurtful as they are – demonstrates that we have more work to do,’ he said.

“ What we would really like to see is all the recommendations of last year’s parliamentary inquiry into far-right extremism being implemented in full as a matter of urgency. ”

Sam Hibbins, Member for Prahran

‘The work is about having laws, and the work is also about having the education that goes with that.’

Sam Hibbins, Member for Prahran, used his speech to urge the Parliament to go further than simply banning the Nazi salute. 

‘What we would really like to see is all the recommendations of last year’s parliamentary inquiry into far-right extremism being implemented in full as a matter of urgency, because what we have witnessed recently, as has also been articulated by other members, is the re-emergence of this sort of hateful extremism in a certain part of our society – more specifically, nationalist and racist violent extremism with elements of fascism, white supremacy and neo-Nazi beliefs and identity at its core,’ he said.

The full debate is available to read in Hansard for Wednesday October 4 and Thursday October 5. 

A Bill Brief on this legislation has been prepared by our library.