Victoria will ban the public display of the Nazi salute by the end of the week, after the state’s parliament passed landmark legislation on Tuesday night.
The Summary Offences (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill, which has passed the state’s upper house, was expected to receive an expedited royal assent on Friday, meaning performing the gesture in public will be an offence by the weekend.
On Tuesday the premier, Jacinta Allan, said the bill would receive royal assent “without delay so that the law will be in place as soon as possible”.
“We do not want to waste one single day in making the Nazi salute ban the law of our state,” Allan said in parliament, during a motion condemning the Hamas attack on Israel.
She said that since the attack there has been an increase of antisemitic incidents in the state.
This included an incident at the weekend in which a group of people dressed in black marched through Melbourne’s Flinders Street station and performed the Nazi salute.
“What has transpired in the past days has been shocking, and we know that there will be many more challenging days and weeks to come,” Allan said.
“But as this parliament unites in our condemnation of the terror that has been committed, we must also unite in a shared vision for the future – a future where every person, regardless of race, religion, background or upbringing, can live in peace and live safely and without fear.”
The deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told parliament that the group “approached train passengers to inquire about their Jewish identity”.
“Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in Australia in the year 2023. We reject it as strongly and as forcefully as we reject all forms of racism, of vilification and of hate against others on the basis of their race, their religion or ethnic origin,” he said.
Under the new laws, anyone who displays or performs a Nazi symbol or gesture in public will face penalties of up to $23,000, 12 months’ jail or both. Previously, only the Nazi Hakenkreuz symbol was banned in Victoria.
Anything that closely resembles a Nazi symbol or gesture will also be covered by the laws, to ensure those who deliberately try to circumvent the ban will be captured.
Exceptions, however, will apply if the performance or display of a Nazi symbol or gesture is done in good faith for a “genuine academic, artistic, educational or scientific purpose”, or in the course of publishing a fair and accurate report of any matter that is in the public interest.
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Traders of historical memorabilia will also be exempt, provided they cover any Nazi symbols or gestures on items that are publicly displayed.
The legislation had already been fast-tracked after a group of neo-Nazis crashed a Melbourne rally in March and performed the Nazi salute on the steps of parliament.
Dvir Abramovich, the chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, last year launched a campaign along with Holocaust survivors to criminalise the Nazi salute.
He described the bill’s passage through parliament as a “thunderous victory” and “glorious milestone”.
“I have to admit that I found it hard not to break down in tears of jubilation sitting in the chamber,” he said.
“Tomorrow Victorians will now wake up to a better, stronger and more tolerant state and should be proud of their efforts in stemming the rising tide of neo-nazism.”
Tasmania in August became the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the Nazi salute, while New South Wales followed later that month.