Submission to the Inquiry into the Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) wholeheartedly supports the Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023, which would heavily penalise the knowing display of Nazi symbols, including the Nazi salute, outside of scientific, educational, artistic, religious, journalistic or other appropriate contexts.
AIJAC has long supported state legislation to ban the display of Nazi symbols, including the Nazi salute, the first recommendation in its submissions to the Legal and Social Issues Committee’s inquiry into extremism in Victoria in mid-2022. AIJAC also made a submission to the NSW Parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Issues inquiry into Crimes Amendment (Display of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2021 supporting similar state legislation.
Already, a majority of states have legislation banning the display of Nazi symbols. The Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023 would not only have a chilling and deterrent effect on the public display of right-wing extremist hatred if adequately enforced, but would also serve as a concrete national statement that such displays are socially unacceptable and help further marginalise the thankfully tiny minority of open racist extremists in this country, thereby strengthening Australia’s multicultural harmony.