All of our Five Eyes partners – Canada,the United Kingdom,the US and New Zealand – have effectively criminalised right-wing extremist groups by proscribing them as terrorist organisations.
Australia just proscribed itsfirst right-wing extremist group a few weeks ago:the UK-based Sonnenkrieg Division,a group with little connection to Australia.
Some government ministers claim that proscribing local right-wing extremist groups,like National Socialist Network andCombat-18,would be ineffective. They say Australian groups are too fractured to meet the proscription threshold,or too savvy and know how to stay just below the proscription threshold by publicly “denouncing” violence.
The chilling revelations inThe Age about NSN and Combat-18 directly contradict these claims.
Proscription also exists to send a loud and clear message about what Australia values and what it rejects.
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When Australia’s proscription laws were introduced in 2002,the Howard government cited the symbolic rationale for proscription offered by the UK:“a clear symbol of public revulsion and reassurance that severe measures are being taken”.
There are international groups right now that have been proscribed by our Five Eyes counterparts that have direct links to Australia,and could be proscribed here.
Such proscription would be more than just symbolic.
In our increasingly networked world,any practical distinction between domestic and international terrorism is almost gone completely.
Movements do not exist in isolation,but rather link and take inspiration from each other and from individuals within movements.
The manifestos from right-wing extremist attacks in Oslo,Charleston,San Bernardino,Christchurch,and El Paso all cite inspiration from one another.
But we don’t need to just proscribe,we also need prevention.
Since coming to government,the Department of Home Affairs has allocated just $53 million to countering violent extremism programs.
It is unclear how much – if any – is allocated to those at risk of right-wing extremism.
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Some federal ministers speak about “all forms of extremism”,as if various ideologies can be lumped into one category and addressed with the same solutions.
Countering violent extremism programs,both on the governmental and non-governmental level,must be designed to address the specific motivating factors that drive someone to a particular extreme ideology.
We also must do more to keep people safe online.
I was alarmed when I heard the former Home Affairs Minister Peter Duttontell ABCInsiders that right-wing extremists were on the dark web and were hard to track down.
WhileThe Age has exposed the secret clubhouse meetings of NSN,the fact is that right-wing extremists are often recruiting in plain sight,on Facebook and other commonly used social media platforms.
They use certain words and phrases that have everyday meanings but also convey coded content to those “in the know”.
Both Twitter and Facebook have removed accounts and content relating to right-wing extremists in recent months,but no doubt there is more that can be done to identify,disrupt and deter when people are searching for certain words or phrases online.
We also need our national leaders to be consistent in naming and condemning right-wing extremist views.
Too often we see labels applied to right-wing extremists that minimise the motivations and ideology behind their actions – something that rarely occurs when Islamist terrorism is even suspected.
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For example,the Australian man imprisoned for vile terrorism offences in New Zealand is not merely a “gunmen” or “murderer” – as some Australian media and political leaders have described him.
He and people like him are terrorists and proponents of a vile ideology – right-wing extremism – that must be named out loud.
Right-wing extremism is here,but it doesn’t need to be here to stay.
We must respond to the rise of violent right-wing extremism. Our national security demands it,and the safety of all Australians requires it.
Kristina Keneally is deputy Labor leader in the Senate and shadow minister for Home Affairs.