Lawmakers have banned public displays of the Nazi salute, swastika and other hate symbols as Australia tries to get to grips with a spike in antisemitism.

Australian lawmakers have banned the performance of the Nazi salute in public and outlawed the display or sale of Nazi hate symbols such as the swastika in landmark legislation that went into effect in the country Monday. The new laws also make the act of glorifying OR praising acts of terrorism a criminal offense.

The crime of publicly performing the Nazi salute or displaying the Nazi swastika is punishable by up to 12 months in prison, according to the Reuters news agency.

Mark Dreyfus, Australia’s Attorney-General, said in a press release Monday that the laws — the first of their kind in the country — sent “a clear message: there is no place in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust and terrorist acts.”

  • Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    10 months ago

    In Canada restricted hate speech works like this :

    It requires three parts.

    1. It is publicly expressed (if it’s done in a private setting it isn’t chargeable)

    2. It targets a person or group of people with a protected characteristic such as race, religion or sexual orientation (the protected grounds for discrimination are outlined in section 3 of the Human Rights Act)

    3. It uses extreme language to express hatred towards that person or group of people because of their protected characteristic which means it counts when

    • Describing group members as animals, subhuman or genetically inferior

    • Suggesting group members are behind a conspiracy to gain control by plotting to destroy western civilization

    • Denying, minimizing or celebrating past persecution or tragedies that happened to group members

    • Labelling group members as child abusers, pedophiles or criminals who prey on children

    • Blaming group members for problems like crime and disease

    • Calling group members liars, cheats, criminals or any other term meant to provoke a strong reaction

    Punishment wise it’s about on par with a disorderly conduct charge… So about the same as being drunk and yelling your head off in a public place or running nude through the streets. Police aren’t likely to arrest someone for it unless the hate speech is obvious or well documented it and someone actively complains.