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Victorians who perform a Nazi salute in public will face hefty fines or up to a year in jail under proposed new laws that will be debated in parliament this week.

Five months after the gesture was used at a protest attended by neo-Nazis, the Andrews government will use the resumption of parliament to ban the Nazi salute, as well as other gestures and symbols used by the Nazi Party.

Anti-Nazi protesters march on a gym in Sunshine West in July.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Holocaust survivors, Victoria Police and members of the Jewish community were consulted on the new laws, which will result in penalties of more than $23,000 or 12 months’ jail, or both, for anyone who intentionally displays or performs a Nazi symbol or gesture in public.

The legislation will include a carve-out for some groups including academics or actors. An exception will also be made for traders of historical memorabilia, or for publishing “a fair and accurate report” of matters deemed in the public interest.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said Victorians have “zero tolerance for the glorification of hateful ideology”.

“We’re making sure people who use these symbols and gestures to harass, intimidate and incite hate are held accountable for their cowardly behaviour,” Symes said.

“While we wish making these laws wasn’t necessary, we will always tackle antisemitism, hatred and racism head-on – because all Victorians deserve to feel accepted, safe and included.”

The move comes just weeks after Tasmania became the first state in Australia and the first jurisdiction outside Europe to ban the Nazi salute.

The legislation will also give Victoria Police the power to remove a Nazi symbol or gesture from public display and make arrests.

The Victorian reforms were triggered after a group of neo-Nazis gatecrashed the “Let Women Speak” event held by British anti-transgender rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. The neo-Nazis at the rally performed the Nazi salute.

The protest triggered a political storm that engulfed the Victorian Liberal party and led to upper house MP Moira Deeming being suspended from the parliamentary Liberal Party after she stayed at the rally.

Deeming was eventually expelled in a party room vote for “bringing discredit” onto the parliamentary team by threatening legal action against Pesutto.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto has previously offered support from the opposition to ban the salute, saying “people who engage in actions and gestures which incite hate and violence will never be acceptable in our state”.

Australia’s counter-terror intelligence has previously warned that cases involving neo-Nazi cells and other ideologically motivated groups are growing and now represent up to half of all domestic anti-terrorism work by the agency.

In June, the federal government announced it would ban Nazi symbols with a punishment of up to a year in prison, but left it to the states and territories to decide whether to ban the Nazi salute.

Last year, Victoria become the first Australian state or territory to ban the public display of the Nazi symbol, following recommendations from a cross-party inquiry into anti-vilification laws.

Multicultural Affairs Minister Colin Brooks said the government had worked closely with multicultural communities on the reforms.

“These laws are part of our unwavering commitment to challenge antisemitism and
hatred whenever it occurs,” he said.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria have all welcomed the proposed ban.

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