The Australian federal government is targeting Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia (HTA) and neo-Nazi group White Australia as part of its new project to create a list of prohibited “hate organizations,” according to remarks by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
The new proscription regime, part of a package of counter antisemitism legislative measures proposed in the wake of the Bondi Beach Massacre, would make it a criminal offense to join and support organizations listed by the Home Affairs Ministry and attorney-general.
At a press conference following Cabinet and National Security Committee meetings, Burke explained that the prohibited hate organizations list would be established for groups that did not meet the threshold for proscription as a terrorist organization.
“I’ve spoken before about my disgust for a very long time at organizations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Nationalist Socialist Network [White Australia], otherwise known as the Neo-Nazis,” said Burke. “I’m asking my department, as the drafting is done, to check it against previous behavior of Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network. Their behavior needs to be unacceptable, their behavior needs to be unlawful, their behavior needs to be enough that we can prescribe the organization and prohibit their activity in Australia.”
Australia's crackdown on Hizb ut-Tahrir and Nationalist Socialist Network
HTA and White Australia, formerly known as the Nationalist Socialist Network, have raised the ire of Australian politicians in recent years for provocative public events.
Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess warned about HTA at the November Lowy Institute event, comparing the Islamic organization’s strategy and rhetoric to that of White Australia.
“The organization’s condemnation of Israel and Jews attracts media attention and aids recruitment, but it deliberately stops short of promoting onshore acts of politically motivated violence. Hizb ut-Tahrir wants to test and stretch the boundaries of legality without breaking them,” said Burgess. “I fear its anti-Israel rhetoric is fueling and normalizing wider antisemitic narratives.”
Liberal Party Senator Michaelia Cash said in response to a planned HTA conference that the Australian government should list the pro-Caliphate group as a terrorist organization, noting that its chapters had been banned in countries including Germany, the UK, and Indonesia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a rebuke of HTA for hosting an October 7 Massacre anniversary event in Bankstown.
New South Wales parliament opposition members, such as Christopher Rath, have repeatedly raised concerns about HTA’s presence in universities in the state.
Last April, the Zionist Federation of Australia called for HTA to be designated as a terrorist organization, explaining that the group was “covertly pushing unwitting Australians towards extremism, and radicalizing its members in support of terror.”
HTA said on Thursday that it was horrified by last Sunday’s Bondi Beach Massacre, but declined to condemn the attack because it implied collective guilt and sanctioned government responses. The group, which seeks to establish a caliphate in the Muslim world, argued that antisemitism was not to blame for the attack.
“There can be no conversation about Bondi without centering the genocide in Gaza,” wrote HTA.
HTA implied that the terrorist attack was orchestrated by Zionists, as Israel was the primary beneficiary of the outcome.
“The ISIS bogeyman has conveniently reared its head again, at the precise time the Zionist entity is embarking upon a global campaign to demonize Islam and Muslims,” said HTA. “You don’t have to be a believer in conspiracy theories to appreciate that only Zionists will benefit from this tragedy. At the very least, the facts as they stand now should raise sufficient questions to slow the conversation down until real details are learned.”
On Friday, HTA issued a statement warning that Israel advocates were attempting to exploit the massacre for political gain, with the government supposedly bending to Israeli demands like with “the fake ‘wave’ of antisemitic attacks last summer.”
White Australia, another target mentioned by Burke, has received scrutiny at the same time as it has sought to establish a federal political party. On November 21, NSW White Australia leader Jack Eltis announced that the party had obtained 1,500 signatures for its members.
New legal regimes have been introduced in response to White Australia’s operations, the latest being the NSW parliament bills to make it an offense for conduct that indicates support for Nazi ideology.
The amendment came in response to the group’s protest outside the NSW parliament in November, in which the group protested against previous protest and anti-extremism laws. Outside the government building, the group raised a banner calling to “abolish the Jewish lobby,” accusing the Jewish community of orchestrating antisemitic incidents to manipulate politicians.
Albanese said at the Monday Canberra press briefing that other post-Bondi Massacre legislative measures, including the hate organization list, were being refined following their announcement on Thursday. The government sought to create an offense for provoking violence, increasing penalties for hate speech and property destruction advocacy, and making hate motivation a factor in all crimes. Burke also sought the power to cancel or reject visas of those engaging in radical behavior, and to ban the importation of extremist material.