Christchurch massacre: far-right groups evade Australia’s terrorist list

No far-right groups in Australia meet the criteria of a listed terrorist organisation, says Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Picture: Getty Images

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has indicated no far-right groups in Australia currently meet the criteria of a listed terrorist organisation, amid calls for national security agencies to review whether to include the groups in the ­official register.

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.

Asked whether far-right groups should be added to the list, Mr Dutton’s office said a group had to be planning or advocating a terrorist attack to be registered.

“To be listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia under the Criminal Code, the minister must be satisfied based on the advice of our security and intelligence agencies that the organisation: is directly or indirectly engaged in preparing, planning, assisting or fostering the doing of a terrorist act, or advocates the doing of a terrorist act,” a spokesman for the minister said.

The list was under constant review by intelligence agencies, he said.

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.

“You will always look at the intent of that group and their capabilities,” she said. “It’s early days to be seeing exactly how significant is the threat in Australia and what form of groups and organisations are present here.”

She said the listing was useful in that it gave law enforcement authorities extra powers to investigate groups, but it was important not to inadvertently hand a group a propaganda win by listing them.

“(Far-right groups) are very small in Australia and they are not very popular,” she said, adding it was important not to “over inflate” their presence.

Bill Shorten called yesterday for a national register of hate crimes to more effectively map the problem in Australia. “But in Australia, where we’ve got eight police agencies, we don’t have a common definition of what a hate crime is, and we don’t record it nationally,” the Opposition Leader said.

Labor’s Mark Dreyfus said there might be room for parliament’s joint committee on intelligence and security to examine the problem.