Southwick says thanks

Deputy Victorian Liberal leader David Southwick (pictured) has paid tribute in State Parliament to all those who helped to make Victoria’s Nazi symbols ban, which passed last week, a reality.

Speaking last Wednesday, the Member for Caulfield, who spearheaded a campaign within the legislature that culminated last week, said, “As I have said on many occasions, there is no place for hate in Victoria, and colleagues, together we have made history by being the first jurisdiction in Australia to ban the evil Nazi swastika.

“After campaigning for years for the ban alongside many from the Jewish community in my electorate, I am truly very proud of the fact that we have been able to finally get this ban in Victoria, and it could not come soon enough.

“These laws will send a strong message that using such evil symbols to target people is not acceptable and that there are now consequences.”

Southwick thanked the Anti-Defamation Commission and its chair Dvir Abramovich, the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, Zionism Victoria, the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Jewish Care Victoria and Emmy Monash, “who have Holocaust survivors that have had to deal with this evil symbol on their front nature strip”.

He also lauded the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, Maccabi Victoria “who ran a call-to-action campaign with Brian Swersky”, and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and its co-CEO Peter Wertheim.

In addition, he paid tribute to media including The AJN, The Shtick and J-AIR “for constantly reporting on this, and everybody else that has helped make this ban a reality”.