KEY POINTS:
- Anthony Albanese has condemned a neo-Nazi rally in Melbourne.
- But the prime minister appeared to contradict ASIO over level of threat posed by right-wing extremism.
- Opposition leader Peter Dutton labelled the neo-Nazis 'scumbags'.
Anthony Albanese has declared the "time for tolerance" of right-wing extremism is over after another public neo-Nazi demonstration in Melbourne, but has stopped short of calling for a federal ban on Nazi symbols in public.
And the prime minister has also appeared to contradict Australia's intelligence agencies by claiming had long posed the "strongest threat" to national security.
Members of neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN) during an anti-immigration rally in Melbourne on Saturday, before a violent confrontation with police and counter-protesters.
, when the group also performed Nazi salutes at an anti-trans rally outside Victorian Parliament, prompted the state government to consider outlawing the salute.
Mr Albanese did not reveal whether Labor was considering a federal ban but insisted there was "no place in Australia" for far-right ideology.
"[It is] an evil doctrine that resulted in the mass murder of people on the basis of their religion, on the basis of who they were, on the basis of their sexual preference," he said on Tuesday.
"The time for tolerance of those matters has long gone. People should have a look at the consequences of that hatred, and it is an ideology of hate."
Police hold back anti-fascist activists during a rally against neo-Nazi protesters outside Parliament House in Melbourne. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele
Intelligence agencies to have 'every support' listing terror groups
The demonstration has also sparked calls for the NSN to be officially designated as a terrorist organisation.
Just three of the 29 groups officially listed as terrorist organisations in Australia were far-right, though experts have warned far-right groups tend to have more fluid structures, making them harder to proscribe.
Mr Albanese said Australia's intelligence agencies would "have every support" from the government if they recommended additional groups be listed.
But he also appeared to contradict those agencies by claiming: "For some time, the strongest threat that has been identified for our security has been right-wing extremism".
In February, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess revealed of the agency's counter-terror workload, with Sunni extremism "our principal security concern in the terrorism space".
While there was a rapid expansion in the threat posed by what ASIO calls "ideologically-motivated extremism" - primarily nationalist, racist, violent extremism - it had subsided since a high point in 2021, Mr Burgess said.
Asked by SBS News what Mr Albanese had based his comments on, his office did not respond directly. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil also declined to comment.
Peter Dutton labels neo-Nazis 'scumbags', repeats calls for symbol ban
Coalition leader Peter Dutton described the scenes in Melbourne as "deeply concerning", warning social media was rapidly accelerating the process of radicalisation.
"It's galling. They're scumbags, they're sick individuals," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
"Of all causes to take up, how on earth anybody in their right mind could take up a Nazi cause, or wave that flag, or salute in a way that that a monster taught them to salute, is beyond me."
Peter Dutton labelled the neo-Nazis 'scumbags'. Source: AAP / Darren England
The NSN's anti-immigration came rally came during a debate over the size of Australia's migration program, as the Coalition accuses Labor of quietly seeking a "big Australia" by expanding its intake.
But Mr Dutton dismissed links between his party's stance and the Melbourne rally, describing calls for a "well-managed" migration program as "quite valid".
"We've got people who are employed, but who at the moment are living out of their car because they can't get into accommodation. It's the first time in a long time that the welfare agencies have seen that level of distress," he said.
"[Immigration] bigger than the population of Adelaide, at the same time in the budget that the prime minister has cut the infrastructure spending, I just don't think that's a well-planned program."
