Nazis previously held ‘end immigration’ rally outside NSW parliament

3 months ago 26

Neo-Nazis have previously been allowed to protest outside NSW parliament without intervention from police or the Minns government, one in a string of increasingly brazen gatherings by the extreme right which have tested police powers.

Police and the state government are investigating how 60 black-clad neo-Nazis were able to hold a rally against Jewish groups outside Parliament House on Saturday.

Sydney neo-Nazi leader Jack Eltis and White Australia members on the steps of NSW Parliament House in late June 2025.

The rally has sparked anger within senior police ranks, and the Minns government. Commissioner Mal Lanyon has said a “communications error within the police force” meant neither he nor Premier Chris Minns were informed about the gathering, despite the group giving notice of their intention to hold the rally on October 28.

On Sunday Penny Sharpe, the leader of the government in the Upper House, said the protest “should never have been allowed to happen”.

“What we saw yesterday was not free speech, it was hate speech, and it should not be tolerated,” she said.

The protest immediately prompted Minns to raise the prospect of new laws to combat neo-Nazis.

But the Herald can reveal Saturday was the second time the same neo-Nazi group has protested at Parliament House. In June, the same group held a rally at the same location.

That protest was billed as being against immigration, and included a speech by one of the same group leaders who spoke outside parliament on Saturday.

A video of the demonstration shows their members being ridiculed by a passer-by for wearing Union Jack insignia on their distinctive black jackets.

Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson revealed the rally had occurred, in evidence provided to a parliamentary hearing earlier this year. It is unclear whether senior police were made aware of that protest before it occurred, or if police subsequently informed the Minns government.

Neither NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon nor Premier Chris Minns were notified beforehand of Saturday’s protest.

While the government has flagged the possibility of introducing new laws after Saturday’s rally, police have not said why new powers introduced in August which banned incitement of racial hatred were not used.

The new powers make it an offence to intentionally incite hatred towards another person or group based on race. Video from Saturday’s rally shows two of the group’s leaders using antisemitic tropes while criticising not just Jewish groups but Jews in general.

NSW Police are reviewing footage of the protest to see whether any laws were broken.

In the same parliamentary hearing in June, Hudson said he thought the new laws “plugs some of those holes” in existing powers to break up neo-Nazi gatherings.

“I think there is a community expectation out there that some of the language in public that has been made should be an offence and, unfortunately, it hasn’t been,” he said.

While he doubted whether it would be possible to introduce legislation aimed at “targeting one ideology”, he did note police in the past had used various powers to stymie them — including in January 2024, when the same group was blocked from attending Australia Day events.

“I think it comes down to their behaviour, whether they are creating a disturbance or whether they are creating fear or intimidation of the local community, which would dictate whether they are given a move on direction and dispersed,” he said.

The notice to hold the protest on Saturday was issued by a known leader of the group, with the stated purpose of criticising Jewish organisations.

When asked whether that should have triggered greater alarm bells for police to escalate the notice, Sharpe said: “I would have thought that it would have … but it obviously didn’t. That’s why we’re getting to the bottom of it.”

Penny Sharpe says the protest “should never have been allowed to happen”.

While the notice was not escalated, police did seek legal advice on whether the rally would be in breach of the Summary Offences Act. However, the gathering, including the use of a large banner reading “Abolish the Jewish lobby” was not deemed to be illegal.

That was partly because of the size of the gathering, and the time and location at which it was held, meant that it was not deemed to be a safety risk.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman labelled the rally a “new low when it comes to racism and bigotry” and called on the police and the government to explain how it was allowed to go ahead.

“This wasn’t just free speech or offensive speech or disagreeable speech. These were thugs dressed in black shirts reminiscent of fascism and Nazism in the 1930s,” he said.

“This was designed to intimidate the Jewish community.”

In NSW if police do not formally oppose a notice to hold a demonstration within a week of its lodgement being lodged, the gathering is taken to be authorised.

Police can oppose a demonstration on a number on grounds, including a potential threat to public safety.

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