Tasmania the first Australian state to ban Nazi gestures
Legislation 'sets an example for other jurisdictions', ECAJ says
Tasmania will become the first state in Australia to ban the Nazi salute after legislation to ban Nazi symbols and gestures passed the state’s Legislative Council.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Elise Archer, said the nation-leading reforms send a very clear message that Nazi symbols and salutes “are a breach of our moral and community standards and are absolutely not welcome in Tasmania”.
“We strongly condemn any display of hate in our community, and I am very pleased to have personally driven these important reforms that will help us deliver a safer and more caring community for all,” she said.
“Importantly, it also acknowledges the continued importance of the swastika to the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain communities, and clearly states that the display of a swastika in this context is not an offence.
“The Bill also acknowledges other legitimate public purposes for display, including other religious, cultural, academic and educational purposes.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim “is a great credit” to the Tasmanian government and parliament.
“It was a privilege for the ECAJ to work with our Tasmanian constituent, the Hobart Hebrew Congregation, in meetings with the Attorney General’s office, to help achieve this outcome,” he said.
“In our view, the optimum approach to defining a Nazi symbol is that which has been adopted in the Tasmanian Bill, because it provides both a reasonable certainty of meaning, and the flexibility to allow the courts to determine the relevant facts in any given case, and to apply the offences to symbols associated with Nazi ideology and any new symbols that neo-Nazi groups might develop.
“Nazi gestures also need to be proscribed. Above all, this needs to be backed up with effective police powers and penalties. The new Tasmanian legislation achieves all of this, and sets an example for other jurisdictions.”
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