NSW Considers Ban on Nazi Salutes Following White Supremacist Rally

A supplied screen-grab obtained on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, shows a group of white supremacists demonstrating in Corowa, on the Murray River. AAP Image/Supplied by The Noticer

New South Wales (NSW) is considering whether to change the law to make the Nazi salute explicitly illegal after around 50 people attended a white supremacist rally, which featured a neo-Nazi banner, in the small Murray River town of Corowa on Saturday.

It is a criminal offence to knowingly display a Nazi symbol in public without a reasonable excuse, but the state does not explicitly ban the salute.

A group of balaclava-wearing men were gathered under a sign that read “white man fight back,” and a video posted online showed the group’s leader suggesting white people were being “pushed out” of their towns.

Premier Chris Minns said he believed the Nazi salute was covered by existing law but vowed to strengthen it if necessary and may look at the statute books of other states for a model.

“If there’s any ambiguity, we will straighten it out because I’m not going to allow racism, anti-Semitism, or some kind of remembrance of this horrific period in human history,” he told reporters.

He said the conduct of people at the rally was “completely obnoxious.”

“I think the people who participated in those rallies have brought shame on themselves and their families. This is not a reflection on the vast majority of people that live in NSW, who are committed to anti-racism.”

No arrests were made at the rally, but NSW police said investigations were ongoing.

‘No Place in Corowa’: Ley

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, whose electorate includes Corowa, said if the men carried Nazi symbols or performed the salute, then they should be charged.

“I was told that they stepped across the border because it was easier to say and do and show the things ... in NSW,” she said. “It comes down to state governments being tough on this stuff.”

She was heartened that locals had made it clear racism had no place in Corowa.

“I am saddened this hate was forced upon members of my community, including many families who were simply enjoying their weekend the day before the Corowa show,” Ley said.

“It is clear this is part of a strategy to shock and provoke using regional towns … in recent months, similar activities have been rightly shut down in our cities.”

Federal laws came into force in January banning the display of symbols such as the swastika and the performance of the Nazi salute in public, following similar prohibitions in Victoria and Tasmania.

Earlier in October, Jacob Hersant, 25, became the first Victorian found guilty of intentionally performing the Nazi salute.

Three men were convicted in NSW in June of displaying a Nazi symbol without reasonable excuse after making the salute during a soccer match, a decision they have appealed.

Another three men pleaded not guilty in a Sydney court in September on allegations they performed Nazi salutes outside an inner-city Jewish museum in 2023.