Neo-Nazis' Anzac Day taunts unlikely to breach hate-speech law, experts say
'Welcome to Country is an important part of official ceremonies, and it should be respected, and I don't agree with the booing,' Dutton said on Friday. 'We have a proud Indigenous heritage in this country, and we should be proud to celebrate it as part of today.'
Victoria Police confirmed a 26-year-old Kensington man was interviewed and released after the incident, and that he was expected to be charged on summons with offensive behaviour. Last year, Hersant became the first person in Victoria to be convicted for performing the Nazi salute.
The summary offence carries a fine or jail term of two months, or up to six months for repeat offenders.
Dr Josh Roose, a Deakin University associate professor who studies political violence, could not say whether Friday's disruption would be captured under the new laws, but said there was a case it should be.
'If you're booing an Indigenous ceremony, one that's based on healing and cohesion, then there's a case you're undermining that and vilifying on the basis of race,' Roose said.
Aunty Joy Murphy, a Wurundjeri elder who has long performed the Welcome to Country at Melbourne events, said the hecklers at the shrine would not deter her.
'It'd take more than that for me not to do the welcome,' she said. 'It makes me want to hold my head up higher than ever. We know what it's like to be insulted, and we have to stand strong and be brave. We're proud to be who we are.'
Aunty Joy said the ceremony was particularly important on Anzac Day to recognise Indigenous soldiers like her father, Jarlo Wandoon, who fought for Australia.
She was supposed to perform the Welcome to Country ceremony at Friday night's Melbourne Storm-Sydney Rabbitohs Anzac Day NRL clash at AAMI Park, but says the Storm cancelled the ceremony at the last minute, leaving Indigenous groups dumbfounded and distressed.
Performances from the Maori Ngā Mātai Pūrua and Djirri Djirri, a Wurundjeri female dance group, were planned too. But as other Indigenous performers rehearsed on the field, Aunty Joy was told the club's board no longer wanted her to conduct the Welcome to Country. The two other First Nations groups refused to continue their performances as a result.
She said no explanation was given to the Indigenous groups for the club's initial cancellation, other than Storm chief executive Justin Rodski telling them it was a board decision.
She said the Storm then reversed its position, apologised and asked her to continue with her ceremony, but she refused.
'We would dearly love to be out there, but they've broken our hearts,' Aunty Joy said.
In a statement, Melbourne Storm said: 'There was a miscommunication of expectations regarding the use Welcome to Country at Melbourne Storm events throughout the year. We acknowledge and accept the timing and miscommunication was not ideal and we have spoken to the groups concerned this afternoon.'
Roose said Friday's Shrine of Remembrance intrusion was clearly planned and had been foreshadowed online.
He said there was a broader pattern of the National Socialist Network challenging each new law designed to thwart them, but that bills had so far been well-drafted and had withstood legal challenges.
'Obviously, to some extent, it's hard to be anything other than reactive to that. However, when they want to forecast this and attempt to disrupt one of Australia's most important days, you could argue there's a case for more pre-emptive policing. It's just a matter of whether the laws will allow it.'
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Roose said the state could create anti-association laws specifically for them and ban them from wearing masks, while the Commonwealth could consider proscribing the National Socialist Network as a terror organisation.
'I'm not advocating those positions. I'm saying that there are a number of much tougher measures available.'
There is currently a bill before state parliament cracking down on masks at protests, which has separately angered civil rights groups.
While the local neo-Nazi groups have not been prohibited or slapped with non-association orders, some individual members have been ordered not to associate with fellow members as part of bail conditions for alleged offences.
Investigations by this masthead and other outlets have uncovered links between local neo-Nazis and designated terror organisations such as The Base and Combat 18, as well as bikies and prison gangs.
Anti-fascist researcher Dr Kaz Ross did not think Friday's behaviour met the threshold to be considered a crime under the state's anti-vilification laws, but said she was sometimes surprised the neo-Nazis weren't charged with low-level crimes such as offensive behaviour or obscene language more often.
'There's a lot of tools there for police to use,' Ross said. 'I'm not seeing the existing laws being used very effectively at all.'
She said the group built solidarity by committing low-level offences but avoided meeting the bar to attract more serious law enforcement, despite being what she called 'an incubator for terrorism' by raising the temperature.
Ross said that meant magistrates had to rule on the low-level offences brought before them, rather than the full picture of extremist ideologies.
Neo-Nazis have been documented recruiting aggressively among young men and boys in Australia.
The Human Rights Law Centre said the government should find ways to address hate other than through criminal law.
'Laws on their own will not address racism. These incidents should propel all governments to invest in community-led prevention, and programs aimed at addressing the root causes of hate and disrupting the way these groups organise and recruit,' the centre's legal director, Sarah Schwartz, said in a statement.
Victorian shadow attorney-general Michael O'Brien said the premier needed to explain why the stronger criminal sanctions were yet to become law since the strengthened anti-vilification laws passed.
'The only beneficiaries of this delay are neo-Nazis and their fellow travellers who want to cause maximum distress. Police and the [director of public prosecutions] are powerless because Labor has failed to act. Whether this is incompetence or negligence, it simply isn't good enough.'
The opposition voted against the expanded laws, because of a dispute over the legal test applied to civil cases.
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The directors of Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation said First Nations people had a long history of service and sacrifice for this country, and thanked allies for their support on Friday.
'We commend Uncle Mark Brown for his strength and determination,' they said in a statement.
'The actions of a few this morning are abhorrent and do not deserve to take away any more from [the day].'
RSL Victoria President Robert Webster condemned the behaviour and said the crowd's support for the speakers far outweighed the small minority of hecklers.
'The actions of a handful were completely disrespectful to the Aboriginal community, veterans, and the spirit of Anzac Day. In response, the spontaneous applause from the 50,000-strong crowd attending the service drowned out those who disrupted, and showed the respect befitting of the occasion,' he said in a statement.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the disruption as hateful and appalling.
'To pierce the sombre silence of the dawn service is more than disrespect – it dishonours all who have served, fought and fallen,' she said.
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Inside PNG used its support to build an audience of tens of thousands with incisive reports on PNG politics: not just Port Moresby, but in the regions including wantaway province Bougainville that has a long history of conflict. "The current lack of funding has unfortunately had a dual impact, affecting both our dedicated staff, whom we're currently unable to pay, and our day-to-day operations," Inside PNG managing director Kila Wani, told AAP. "We've had to let off 80 per cent of staff from payroll which is a big hit because we're not a very big team. "Logistically, it's become challenging to carry out our work as we normally would." AAP has confirmed a number of other media entities in the region which have suffered hits, but declined to share their stories. The funding hits are all the more damaging given the challenges faced by the Pacific, as outlined in the Pacific Islands Media Freedom Index. 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"The US government has senselessly destroyed a highly valued news service in the Pacific. An own goal." America's retreat from foreign aid is being felt deeply in Pacific media, where pivotal outlets are being shuttered and journalists work unpaid. The result is fewer investigations into dubiously motivated politicians, glimpses into conflicts otherwise unseen and a less diverse media in a region which desperately needs it. "It is a huge disappointment ... a senseless waste," Benar News' Australian head of Pacific news, Stefan Armbruster, told AAP after seeing his outlet go under. Benar News, In-depth Solomons and Inside PNG are three digital outlets which enjoyed US support but have been cruelled by President Donald Trump's about-face on aid. Benar closed its doors in April after an executive order disestablishing Voice of America, which the Unitd States created during World War II to combat Nazi propaganda. An offshoot of Radio Free Asia (RFA) focused on Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Benar kept a close eye on abuses in West Papua, massacres and gender-based violence in Papua New Guinea and more. The Pacific arm quickly became indispensable to many, with a team of reporters and freelancers working in 15 countries on a budget under $A1 million. "Our coverage of decolonisation in the Pacific received huge interest, as did our coverage of the lack women's representation in parliaments, human rights, media freedom, deep sea mining and more," Mr Armbruster said. In-depth Solomons, a Honiara-based digital outlet, is another facing an existential threat despite a proud record of investigative and award-winning reporting. Last week, it was honoured with a peer-nominated award from the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan for a year-long probe into former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare's property holdings. "We're just holding on," editor and co-founder Ofani Eremae told AAP. A US-centred think tank continues to pay the wage of one journalist, while others haven't drawn a salary since January. "It has had an impact on our operations. We used to travel out to do stories across the provinces. That has not been done since early this year," Mr Eremae said. A private donor came forward after learning of the cuts with a one-off grant that was used for rent to secure the office, he said. Its funding shortfall - like Port Moresby-based outlet Inside PNG - is linked to USAID, the world's biggest single funder of development assistance, until Mr Trump axed its multi-billion dollar budget. Much of USAID's funding was spent on humanitarian causes - such as vaccines, clean water supplies and food security - but some was also earmarked for media in developing nations, with the aim of bolstering fragile democracies. 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The latest report listed a string of challenges, notably weak legal protections for free speech, political interference on editorial independence, and a lack of funding underpinning high-quality media, in the region. The burning question for these outlets - and their audiences - is do other sources of funding exist to fill the gap? Inside PNG is refocusing energy on attracting new donors, as is In-depth Solomons, which has also turned to crowdfunding. The Australian and New Zealand governments have also provided targeted support for the media sector across the region, including ABC International Development (ABCID), which has enjoyed a budget increase from Anthony Albanese's government. Inside PNG and In-depth Solomons both receive training and content-focused grants from ABCID, which helps, but doesn't fund the underpinning costs for a media business or keep on the lights. 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"The US government has senselessly destroyed a highly valued news service in the Pacific. An own goal."
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