Community safety
Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (13:09): Neo-Nazis are organising a parade of hatred and racism in Melbourne on Sunday. Built on fear, it is meant to intimidate and divide. While not so long ago white supremacists organised in secret, more and more neo-Nazis are showing up in plain sight with no shame and no consequences. The truth is the far right has been growing, recruiting online and exploiting real frustrations around housing and the cost-of-living crises to fuel their racist scapegoating. It follows years of anti-immigrant dog whistling; mainstream media platforming fascists; and negligent governments, like the Victorian Labor government, who have seen this coming from afar and done nothing. But ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Three years ago the inquiry into far-right extremism delivered 12 clear recommendations to tackle the root causes. We need anti-racism and digital literacy education, we need early intervention deradicalisation programs for young men and we need more – not less – youth support services and a crackdown on white supremacist violent organisations. Now that neo-Nazis are organising in plain sight, it is past time the government stepped in and implemented all 12 recommendations. The violent, racist extremism of the far right must be stopped at its root.