Australia bans a neo-Nazi network under new law that criminalizes hate groups
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia identified a neo-Nazi network as the second organization being banned under its new law criminalizing hate groups and support for them. The group, formerly known as the National Socialist Network and sometimes called White Australia, said it would disband after the government in January passed the law allowing certain organizations to be banned. The law was in response to the antisemitic attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December in which 15 people were killed. The National Socialist Network “changed their name, but didn’t change the fact that they were still an organization and were still engaging in the same sort of behavior that met the thresholds for this legislation,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Friday. Members of hate groups face 15 years in prison The ban, which would take effect at the end of Friday, makes it illegal to support, fund, train, recruit, join or direct the group, including if it reformed under a new name, Burke said. Breaking the …
