Tasmanian neo-Nazi group’s disturbing acts exposed
Activists have uncovered a series of alarming stunts carried out by members of the Tasmanian cell of a disturbing far-right hate group.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Extensive investigations have uncovered a series of disturbing acts carried out by the Tasmanian cell of a disturbing far-right hate group.
The National Socialist Network (NSN) shot to prominence earlier this year after members were pictured performing the Nazi salute on the steps of Victoria’s parliament at an anti-trans rally.
The Australian neo-Nazi political organisation allegedly formed in 2020 from two far-right organisations, the Lads Society and the Antipodean Resistance.
While the NSN is based in Melbourne, it boasts of being active in all six state capitals and several regional cities across Australia – including Tasmania.
According to anti-fascist researchers The White Rose Society, the name of the Tasmanian branch of the NSN is Tasman Forth, which was the pen name of well-known Tasmanian Nazi sympathiser, fascist and anti-Semite Alexander Rud Mills, who died in 1964.
The group’s flag features three red lions – a nod to the Tasmanian state flag – and its Telegram channel regularly shares disturbing anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic and transphobic content, including slurs aimed at various ethnic groups and members performing Nazi salutes.
Over the years, a series of worrying stunts have made headlines in Tasmania with links to the group later emerging, such as the vandalism of Transgender Day of Remembrance flags in Hobart in November 2021, with Tasman Forth sharing footage of the vandalism unfolding almost a year later.
In 2022, a rabbi also spoke out about swastika graffiti painted near his Launceston synagogue, with Tasman Forth posting a video of members placing neo-Nazi stickers in the same location soon after.
Tasman Forth’s distinctive three lion flag was also seen at a large NSN event at Legacy Boxing in December 2022.
The White Rose Society has also revealed a string of chilling social media posts shared by the group.
In one example, Tasman Forth shared a collage of different members dressed in Christmas outfits with the message: “Have a Merry Christmas to all white families” on Telegram on Christmas Day 2022.
Another Tasman Forth Australia Day post this year featuring a montage of images also shows members with their faces blurred – with one holding a fake wooden weapons – bearing the words: “Australia for the white man”.
Last month, Tasmania joined other states by proposing laws which would make the display of Nazi symbols and the salute punishable by jail time or fines.
Tasmanian Attorney-General Elise Archer branded such displays “a blatant breach of both our moral and community standards”.
“Following the recent disturbing use of the Nazi salute during a demonstration in Victoria, the Bill will also prohibit the use of the Nazi salute,” Ms Archer said in a statement.
“Our government wants everyone in our community to feel safe from these disturbing displays, whether it be the display of Nazi symbols or the use of the Nazi salute, as we know they can cause hate and fear.”
‘Lifting the cover’
The White Rose Society previously told news.com.au in a statement that neo-Nazis “want to create environments in which anyone they deem to be undesirable will feel uncomfortable, be it through stickering, graffiti, or events like the Posie Parker anti-trans speak out on the steps of Parliament”.
“Neo-Nazis often feel comfortable doing this because they believe they are anonymous. We believe in lifting the cover of anonymity,” the group said.
The group claimed that at the “extreme end” of the neo-Nazi spectrum there were people like the Australian terrorist who murdered 51 people in Christchurch in 2019.
“On a much less dramatic level though, the threat posed by mentally unstable young men regularly taking part in fight training for a coming race war is clear,” the group continued.
“The young age of these men makes them more susceptible to the cult-like grooming tactics … which pushes them into extremism and hatred.”
Originally published as Tasmanian neo-Nazi group’s disturbing acts exposed
Ex-deputy PM’s cop son denies club attack
A club manager says he was left “seeing stars” after an alleged altercation with the cop son of ex-Deputy PM Michael McCormack outside a Sydney nightclub.
Fury over bird trapped in Coles for 4 weeks
The plan to remove a wild cockatoo trapped in a Coles supermarket has sparked anger for its ‘lack of common sense’ approach.