Neo-Nazis’ attendance at Liberal-hosted rally sends MPs scurrying

Prominent neo-Nazis joined a rally hosted by shadow minister Brad Battin and fellow Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans to protest against a lack of consultation over the renaming of a lake in Melbourne’s outer south-east.

Battin and Hermans left the event as soon as they became aware that a small number of men dressed in black, including Thomas Sewell, the self-appointed leader of the National Socialist Network, and group member Joel Davis, had shown up to their “public hearing on the renaming of Berwick Springs Lake” on Tuesday night, the opposition said.

Liberal MP Brad Battin speaking on Tuesday at a protest over renaming a lake in Berwick.Credit: Brad Battin/ Instagram

Battin and Hermans had addressed a crowd of hundreds at the recently named Guru Nanak Lake, named after the founder of Sikhism, where they accused Labor of failing to consult the community on the name change.

There is no suggestion that Battin, Hermans, the speakers or the event organisers invited the neo-Nazis or knew they would be joining the Tuesday rally.

The group’s attendance is particularly uncomfortable for the opposition given Liberal leader John Pesutto moved to expel MP Moira Deeming from the party room in the days after the Let Women Speak rally in March last year. Neo-Nazis were among several groups of protesters on the steps of parliament that day.

Deeming had condemned the men, who wore all black and performed the Nazi salute, and said they were not there to support her cause and that she did not see them until they were leaving.

Sewell and Davis discussed their attendance at Tuesday’s rally while repeatedly using vulgar slurs in a live video on Thursday night, seen by The Age.

“Upon becoming aware of these individuals, Victoria Police were immediately alerted and Liberal MPs in attendance left the event,” an opposition spokesman said, after The Age contacted Battin and Hermans on Friday.

Pesutto on Friday said it was not clear to him the men had attended to support the cause of the rally and that Battin and Hermans responded exactly as they should have, by leaving quickly and informing police.

“That’s what I expect, they weren’t in any other position to stop who was turning up,” Pesutto said.

Asked about the comparison to his treatment of the Deeming case, Pesutto said: “These are not the same situations.”

Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans addresses the protest in Berwick on Tuesday.Credit: Brad Battin/ Instagram

On Friday night, Deeming wrote on social media that “guilt by association is a harmful reckless fallacy – the refuge of bullies & cowards who cannot win arguments on merit”, which she said often helped promote hateful opportunists.

“Despite recent political precedents that have been set, my own position remains unchanged ... I sincerely hope that injustice is not compounded by injustice.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force had a visible presence at the rally on Tuesday, joined by about 200 people, and was aware of a small group among them. “However no issues were reported.”

Local newspaper Berwick Star had alluded to the Neo-Nazis’ presence, referencing “men dressed in black shirts with crosses on them” who were said to have arrived at the Tuesday rally with “no connection, invitation or prior consultation” with organisers or the MPs.

Deeming has alleged in a high-stakes Federal Court defamation battle that Pesutto used events around last year’s Let Women Speak rally to defame her as a Nazi and as an excuse to expel her. Pesutto is fighting the claim.

Pesutto has said throughout that long-running saga that associating with such people, even indirectly, was unacceptable in the party he leads. Pesutto told the court Deeming should have left last year’s rally immediately and sought to distance herself from the neo-Nazis sooner.

Deeming was suspended from the Liberal party room in a last-minute compromise in March last year, but was ultimately expelled after threatening to bring in lawyers.

Battin had released a joint statement on the night of the March 2023 events, describing the display from neo-Nazis, which included Sewell, as a sickening affront.

Joel Davis (left) and Thomas Sewell outside court this month supporting Jacob Hersant, who was sentenced for performing the Nazi salute.Credit: Justin McManus

“These shameful individuals and the hateful ideology they push have no place in our state and must never be tolerated,” Battin and deputy leader David Southwick said at the time.

On Wednesday, after his own rally appeared to have been infiltrated by neo-Nazis, Battin made no mention of it in his social media post. He had promoted the event as a public hearing offering residents a chance to speak to the MPs.

“Last night, our community came together, united only by a desire to be heard and respected by the Allan Labor government,” Battin wrote, alongside photos of himself and Hermans addressing the crowd.

“This meeting was not about division but rather a call for genuine consultation, transparency and shared decision-making.”

A group of Berwick residents earlier this month launched a petition accusing the government of failing to consult the community. The petition has been signed by 7000 people.

Battin, the MP for Berwick and the opposition’s police spokesman, and Hermans, who represents the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region in the upper house, have since launched a discussion paper of their own seeking submissions to present to the government.

Some MPs who opposed Deeming’s expulsion had cautioned it would set a precedent for any MP unwittingly photographed with or at the same event as someone deemed unsavoury.

Pesutto’s future as party leader could fall on Justice David O’Callaghan’s judgment, due to be released as soon as next month.

The Allan government held a ceremony this month to commemorate the renaming of Berwick Springs Lake to Guru Nanak Lake.

Pesutto had previously blasted the government for changing the name without consulting the community.

“I want to bring Victorians together, but all the premier seems to be doing is wanting to divide people,” he said earlier this month.

Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson, addressing the media over a report into the state’s finances, said Battin and Hermans needed to explain what they knew, how they responded, and when.

“I’m not sure why it’s only coming to light now, when perhaps an earlier statement indicating what happened and why it happened and how the Liberal Party responded might have been more timely,” Pearson said.

“There’s no place for this sort of hateful behaviour in Victoria.”

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