Neo-Nazis lose fight to shield themselves from ban. But their High Court fight isn’t over

Neo-Nazis have lost a bid to temporarily shield themselves from arrest under new federal hate speech laws, as they mount a constitutional challenge in the High Court – represented by a former Liberal MP.

On Thursday, the High Court threw out their bid for an injunction against laws outlawing them as a hate group – including a reprieve from any potential arrests – until the case is resolved in September.

Chief Justice Stephen Gageler found there were no “compelling grounds” to interfere with the laws at this stage, even as the neo-Nazi group argued it would cast a “chill” on their burgeoning political party push.

The National Socialist Network disbanded on paper in January in an attempt to escape the government’s crackdown on extremism, under which its members and supporters could face up to 15 years in prison. But last month, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke banned the group anyway, noting members had continued to organise covertly, “phoenixing” under new names such as White Australia.

The group is now arguing in the High Court that it is also a political party, and so banning the organisation infringes on the implied right to political freedom in Australia. Members say the new hate laws give power to the minister without judicial review, opening “the door to tyranny”.

Thomas Sewell, leader of the NSN and its political offshoot White Australia, is being represented by prominent barrister and former Liberal MP Peter King.

King once sat in the seat of Wentworth in Sydney – a seat now held by independent Allegra Spender, who was herself the subject of alleged threats last year by a prominent neo-Nazi in the NSN, now charged.

In less than a week, Sewell raised a war chest of more than $150,000 for his efforts to challenge the laws in court, bragging on livestreams to followers of a prominent barrister with political connections agreeing to represent them. After Thursday’s verdict, Sewell said he would now seek legal advice as to whether he could continue to fundraise for the outlawed group to fund the case.

While the NSN claimed it had dissolved entirely in January, Sewell has since admitted that the group continued with its plans to form a neo-Nazi party, submitting the paperwork to register the “White Australia” party – with Sewell as party president – to the Australian Electoral Commission on Anzac Day.

The AEC has limited grounds to knock back such an application because the agency has to stay apolitical. Being a designated hate group is not grounds to reject a party registration, the AEC confirmed to this masthead, which could be used as a loophole in the new laws.

But the AEC said White Australia had not provided the details of the 1500 members it needs to register as a party, with the group citing concerns those members would be “doxxed”. As a result, the AEC said its application was rejected officially today.

“The AEC communicated with the applicant early today to formally advise that their party registration application could not progress in its current form,” an AEC spokesman said.

Those behind White Australia are free to re-submit their application at any time, but registration typically takes about three months to process if successful.

That’s unlikely to happen before the High Court showdown in September, though the court could yet decide the group is a political party without AEC registration.

The injunction filed by the neo-Nazi group called on the court to stay the new designation and “restrain” authorities from investigating or prosecuting the group for its “membership, political association, political communication, party registration, campaign activities or distribution of electoral matters” until the case concluded.

Yesterday, this masthead unmasked the wealthy backers and millionaire members helping the group plot its next move into politics from a secret mansion gifted to Sewell in Melbourne. One of them, David Roberts, the son of a wealthy aviation family in regional Victoria, did not respond to questions from this masthead but on Thursday flanked neo-Nazis outside a Melbourne court.

Four members of Sewell’s defunct NSN – Nathan Bull, Michael “Mickle” Nelson, Jacob Hersant and Ian Lomax – were fined in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for their stunt last year booing during the Welcome to Country ceremony at the Anzac Day dawn service in Melbourne.

Sewell’s neo-Nazi group says it now intends to stand candidates in upcoming state and federal elections, but the leader has told followers a key part of the political push is to rebrand as “everyday Australians” concerned about immigration to recruit followers and use political expression as a shield against hate speech laws.

Last week, NSW state MP Stephen Lawrence despaired that the new federal laws had been rushed through as knee-jerk policy after the Bondi terror attack, and could have unintended, Draconian consequences – not least of all handing the neo-Nazis a monumental win in the High Court. “Imagine the optics,” Lawrence said in NSW parliament. “An avowed Nazi leader on the steps of the High Court of Australia, launching the White Australia Party on the day the court strikes down as unconstitutional these new laws aimed directly at him and his group.”

Court documents show Sewell’s constitutional challenge will draw on the example of one of his ideological enemies – the Communist Party of Australia, which was resurrected by the High Court in 1951 after the Menzies government banned it.

But Justice Gageler did not agree with similarities posed between the cases by Sewell’s lawyers that pertained to the injunction bid.

The federal government has also designated Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a hate group under the new laws, again at the recommendation of spy agency ASIO.

With Brittany Busch

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