Christchurch massacre: Australia agencies ‘take far-right seriously’

The PM says Australia has considerable intelligence on neo-Nazis as NZ reveals it only started monitoring far-right groups last year.

Messages of support at the botanical gardens in Christchurch. Picture: Getty Images.

Scott Morrison says the threat from white supremacists and neo-Nazis is “serious” and there is considerable intelligence on them, as New Zealand revealed they only started monitoring far-right threats last year.

New Zealand’s Attorney-General Andrew Little told reporters yesterday the country’s government only started to draw up plans to tackle far-right extremism in mid-2018, as the fallout continues from the Christchurch terror attacks.

And The Australian revealed today that no far-right groups in Australia currently meet the criteria of a listed terrorist organisation.

The Prime Minister said this morning that Australia’s security services have been gathering “quite a bit of” intelligence on white supremacists for a long period of time.

“I think it’s serious and I think it always has been and that’s why on a federal level our agencies have all taken it seriously,” he told ABC radio.

“The work they’ve done over a long period of time I think has greatly assisted us, especially in recent days.

“When it comes to our knowledge of white supremacists or separatists or other extreme groups like this, we have got quite a bit of intelligence in these areas and it does go back quite a way on these groups.”

Asked whether far-right groups should be added to the terror watch list yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s office said a group had to be planning or advocating a terrorist attack to be registered.

Labor MP and counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly told The Australian yesterday that fresh consideration should be given to listing far-right groups with a presence in Australia.

Australian National University national security policy expert Jacinta Carroll said agencies were likely to be reviewing their listings in light of the Christchurch mosque attacks and investigations as to whether the attacks were linked to active far-right organisations.