Australia has banned the public display of symbols associated with prohibited terrorist organizations, including Daesh and the PKK, a group that has led a campaign of terror against Türkiye for over four decades.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist group in Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Since it launched an insurgency in the 1980s against the Turkish state, it has massacred over 40,000 civilians in the country. It also relies on a vast network of sympathizers and members stationed overseas for both political and financial support.
Laws banning the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups, as well as the Nazi salute, came into effect in Australia on Monday as the government responds to a rise in anti-Semitic incidents following Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip.
The law makes it an offense punishable by up to 12 months in prison to publicly perform the Nazi salute or display the Nazi swastika or the double-sig rune associated with the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary group.
The sale and trade of these symbols is similarly prohibited.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement the legislation sent a clear message there was no place in Australia for those who glorify the Holocaust or terrorist acts.
"This is the first legislation of its kind and will ensure no one in Australia will be allowed to glorify or profit from acts and symbols that celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology."
Introduced in June and passed in December, the law has taken on a new significance amid a surge in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia following the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict where at least 22,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Unverified footage showing a small group of men outside the iconic Opera house shouting "gas the Jews" during a pro-Palestinian protest in October triggered outrage around the world and a police investigation.
Separately, police arrested three men in October for performing the Nazi salute outside the Jewish Museum of Australia. There were more anti-Jewish incidents in October and November last year than in the 12 months prior, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
The law also bans the public display or trade of symbols associated with Hamas, which only a handful of countries like the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Japan, alongside Israel and Canada, label as a terror group.
Exemptions exist for academic, educational or artistic use.
