WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch has lashed out at three West Australian men who were arrested during a neo-Nazi rally in Adelaide over the weekend, declaring their behaviour would not be tolerated or accepted in the community.
The trio joined 13 others from around the country on Australia Day for a counter-protest to a “Survival Day” event that opposed the national day being held on January 26.
Members of the National Socialist Network are arrested as they hold a counter-protest on Australia Day in Adelaide.Credit: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images
Fifteen men and a 16-year-old boy, all members of the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, were photographed dressed in black, wearing sunglasses and waving Australian flags as they marched.
Vision of the men showed them chanting “Australia for the white man” and banging a drum while walking, as well as singing Waltzing Matilda at the city’s war memorial.
All were later arrested, including WA men Mason James Robbins, 30, James Allan Holliday, 25, and a 55-year-old man. They were charged with possessing an article of disguise, while Holliday was also charged with using a Nazi symbol.
A TikTok group dedicated to the movement in WA claimed the National Socialist Network was growing in the west, but speaking to 6PR on Tuesday, Blanch said they would have little chance of successfully carrying out a protest in WA.
“There were three of our West Australians over in South Australia on that march the other day; I would say that speaks to the knowledge, perhaps, that they have,” he said.
“If they do it here in WA, it’s going to be shut down quick smart. We’re going to stop it immediately.”
Blanch said the men involved were known to them, as were the groups they were involved in back in Perth.
“We also have our state security investigation group, who are out there every day looking at intelligence online, people thinking that way in Western Australia, and we will take action before they form up and start chanting down the street,” he said.
“I do not want to see that in WA and I’ve asked our officers to do everything they can to prevent it.”
Blanch said most of the people involved were young men, and he implored parents to be vigilant of such behaviour.
“Our SSIG team are aware of the identities of all these individuals who are purporting to be white supremacist nazis, or whatever you want to call them, because they are quite active online and they are active online with other parts of Australia and other parts of the world,” he said.
“I think this is where that genesis is, so the first thing I would say is, if you’re a parent, and you’ve got a young boy who’s growing up and you see some behaviours that you’re worried about, start doing some parenting pretty quick smart, because we don’t want these young men to turn into people that think this is OK.
“I can tell you what the next step is – it’s enforcement by police.”
On Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook said he was “very worried” about the growth of extreme right-wing groups in WA that targeted “young, weak men”.
“They are a danger to our social cohesion,” he said.
“They’re a danger to the community, and we saw accounts yesterday, when we acknowledged or remembered the Holocaust, that these things start with angry conversations.
“They start with people being coerced to say that people who look different from you or have different beliefs are the reason why you experience your hardship, and we know that this is where fascism starts.
“It’s so important that our de-radicalisation programs are trying to combat that insidious impact of social media … because we know social media has a coercive and impactful effect, particularly on young, weak men.”
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