State government proposal to ban Nazi salute and symbols in South Australia

The Nazi swastika and Hitler salute would be banned in SA under proposed new laws – but there will be a defence available for people who aren’t white supremacists.

Anyone caught displaying swastikas in public or performing a Nazi salute could be fined up to $20,000 or face a year in jail, under a new ban proposed by the state government.

The state government has moved to ban the public display of Nazi symbols, and the Nazi salute gesture, in response to reports of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents.

The laws would bring South Australia with other Australian jurisdictions, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory being the only two yet to legislate some form of ban.

Defences will be available for innocent uses of Nazi symbols including use in good faith for academic, educational, or artistic purposes, and for religious purposes such as the swastika used as a religious symbol of peace in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain faiths.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The legislation comes after a Parliamentary Select Committee established in 2022 has heard evidence from SAPOL, the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre, the History Trust of SA.

 Attorney-General Kyam Maher said increased activity from the neo-Nazi movement around the country has been “totally unacceptable”.

“I firmly believe South Australia is an inclusive, welcoming place that embraces diversity in all its forms,” he said.

“These laws send a clear message that the use of these most widely recognised symbols of hate, violence, and intolerance, to incite division in the community, has no place in South Australia.

“This move will also help ensure our state remains a safe and inclusive place, particularly for the Jewish community.”