Neighbours star Damien Richardson to fight Nazi salute charge
The actor, 55, appeared at Moorabbin Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
He was charged with performing a Nazi salute at a restaurant in Melbourne 's southeast in September 2024.
Richardson asked police to consider offering him a diversion at a hearing in June, to spare him a criminal conviction, but this was rejected, the court was told on Tuesday.
He has now been charged with intentionally performing 'a Nazi gesture whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology' and that the display 'occurred in a public place'.
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Prosecutor Nicholas La Mattina applied to change the wording of the single charge, to remove the words 'symbol' and 'display'.
He also asked the magistrate to insert the words 'Nazi salute' into the charge, and that it 'is likely to be confused with or mistaken for a Nazi salute, whilst knowing the Nazi salute is a Nazi gesture'.
Magistrate Luisa Bazzani approved of the change in wording and ordered the matter be set down for a two-day contested hearing.
She said there were two issues; whether Richardson performed a Nazi gesture or salute and whether he could be exempt under the Act as performing out of 'genuine artistic purpose'.
'What's conceded is the gesture Mr Richardson performed was a Nazi gesture, but not specifically a Nazi salute,' Mr La Mattina said.
Defence lawyer Peter Monagle said his client claimed 'it was a gesture which was made without thought as to what ramifications there may be'.
The magistrate said Richardson had referred to the fact he may be fined or jailed, while he was performing the gesture.
Mr La Mattina said he may potentially call an expert on 'what constitutes a Nazi salute' to give evidence to the hearing.
Appearing in Moorabbin Magistrates Court on Tuesday he has now been charged with intentionally performing 'a Nazi gesture whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology' and that the display 'occurred in a public place'
Mr Monagle said he would cross-examine that witness, if called, on the 'mathematical formula' of what constitutes a Nazi salute, including how high an arm must be raised and the position of the fingers.
A two-hour livestream of the incident may be played at the contested hearing, but Mr Monagle said he would ask the court to not allow evidence of another speaker at the event as it would be 'prejudicial' to the case.
Richardson, who is facing a fine of up to $23,000 or 12 months in jail, will return to the court for a contested hearing on November 5 and 6.
The actor appeared in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court in April after being charged under Victoria's anti-Nazi salute laws.
He was allegedly filmed performing a Nazi salute to a crowd of far-right activists at a National Workers Alliance meeting in Melbourne in September.
NWA says it stands 'for the preservation of Western culture and identity'.
Before performing the Nazi salute, which was revealed by ABC's 7.30, Richardson declared that Australia was experiencing 'a war on men'.
'I thought it was a war on Western tradition, Western values … and actually, it's an anti-white male agenda.'
It was then that Richardson raised his right arm and alluded to the fact that far-right extremist Jacob Hersant was given a one-month jail term last week for doing a Nazi salute.
'Am I gonna be fined now? I'm gonna go to jail for five years?' Richardson said.
'I mean, really? I mean, this is absurd. This is insane. It's crazy. It's so crazy you can't believe it's even happening.'
After Richardson performed the salute, which was broadcast live on Facebook, members of the National Socialist Network neo-Nazi group could be heard cheering.
Despite his actions and words being filmed, the actor has tried to distance himself from the neo-Nazis he was addressing.
Matt Trihey, who organised the Melbourne gathering, said 'there has been a lot of misinformation spoken about the event, Damien, the National Workers Alliance and myself'.
'Neither Damien or I have ever been members of Nazi organisations and we have no connection with the NSN,' he told the ABC.
'I am a free speech advocate and have no control over who purchases online tickets to my events.'
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he was 'disgusted' at the footage.
'I was shocked enough when I saw the salute, disgusted when I heard the applause,' he said.
'They might think they did it in a private place, but the moment you put things online there's a new legal question on whether it was done publicly, so that will be something our authorities will work through.'
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