Australia’s New South Wales state moves to ban the swastika
Signs at an anti-racist rally organized to counter a march held by far-right patriot groups in Melbourne, Australia, June 25, 2017. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
By Ron Kampeas February 23, 2022
(JTA) — The Australian state of New South Wales is closer to banning the swastika.
A bipartisan bill authored by an opposition Labor Party member would ban the public display or dissemination of the symbol associated with the Nazis. The bill includes exemptions for those who use the symbol as part of Hindu traditions.
The bill imposes maximum penalties of approximately $4,000 and six months in prison.
A Standing Committee on Social Issues will now consider amendments before advancing the bill to the full Legislative Council, Australia’s upper legislative body, for debate, the Australian Jewish News reported.
The committee secured a joint endorsement of the bill from the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies and the Hindu Council of Australia.
“The Nazi swastika is an emblem of pure evil. It represents the dehumanization of millions of people; the death of our Australian servicemen and women; and one of the most inhumane, hate-based and murderous regimes and ideologies to ever exist,” Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark said in the joint statement.
The bill was introduced by the shadow minister for police and counter-terrorism, Walt Secord, who is Jewish. Secord is also the deputy chairman of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
Police have tallied a rise in extremist behaviour in New South Wales over the past two years, Australia’s ABC News reported. Secord said that in 2020, police were notified 31 times about Nazi flags being displayed, but were powerless to act.
—
The post Australia’s New South Wales state moves to ban the swastika appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
