ASIO talks right-wing terror threats

The alarming rise of neo-Nazi presence in Melbourne has sent shockwaves through the community, particularly among the Jewish population, as recent violent clashes underscore the growing concern over extremist ideologies taking hold.

During a Senate Estimates hearing, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess noted that right-wing terror threats account for approximately 30 per cent of ASIO’s counter-terror caseload, and they are increasingly trying to recruit new members. During the hearing, Burgess clarified that although recent public demonstrations by neo-Nazi groups have displayed increased boldness, their main objective is to attract new members rather than signalling an escalation in the terror threat.

Director of policy and research at the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Jeremy Jones said this brazen behaviour of right-wing groups can be attributed to the fact that “one or two individuals come to the leadership of the organisations, and they believe the way to fame or status is through publicity, and you get publicity by doing more and more things that people will be offended by”.

He also noted that we can’t apply “a lot of old analytical tools”, when looking at the increase in neo-Nazi presence, as “social media is a new environment”.

Jones noted that these fringe groups perform these brazen acts when “they think they’re going to get a victory”, and incite fear in the community.

He said they wouldn’t perform acts when they think the type of publicity they will receive is “you’re the village idiots”, and suggested that the Jewish community “ramp up the ridicule, and ramp back the publicity”.

However, he said the arrests under the new laws and “the fact of having the law and applying the law really pushed the people who had been promoting racism onto the back foot to change in a way which really hurt their ability to do harm and continue to harm”.

Associate professor of politics at Deakin University Josh Roose noted that it is “important to differentiate between an increase in size and in activity”.

He said that the National Socialist Network (those most active at protests – dressed in black) have a committed core of about 20 activists who regularly show up at these protests, and with a wider online ecosystem of several hundred, “this is comparatively very small.”

Roose said, “The group are skilled at highly polarising public acts and use the media as a force multiplier for their activities,” adding, “These groups are attempting to exploit polarising issues to build their momentum and gain new followers.”

When asked why these groups appear more brazen in their acts Roose told The AJN, “They believe, for a number of reasons, that this is an opportune time to grow their movement and to exploit people’s anger in the wider community about a range of issues from the economic downturn and cost of living crisis to concerns about LGBTIQ rights and migration among some members of the community. The protests weaponise the Nazi salute to both inspire fear among the community … and as a recruitment mechanism.”