‘Will not be bullied’: female MPs stare down neo-Nazis
Farid Farid |
Two female MPs abused online by far-right extremists say they will not be silenced as police defend not breaking up a neo-Nazi rally outside a state parliament.
Federal independent MP Allegra Spender and state Liberal MP Kellie Sloane have referred several inflammatory, misogynistic and violent threats directed towards them to police.
The politicians’ overlapping electorates in eastern Sydney include large Jewish populations.
The threats followed their condemnation of 60 black-clad men, linked to the Nationalist Socialist Network, who assembled outside the NSW parliament on Saturday.
They shouted Nazi slogans and unfurled a large banner with the slogan: “Abolish the Jewish Lobby”.
Ms Sloane said the government’s handling of the rally was a “complete stuff-up”.
She remained defiant in the face of the dozens of threats that prompted her to deactivate her X account.
“I will not be intimidated by this group or by people who support them. I will not be bullied out of saying what I think,” she told reporters on Monday.
“I will stand up for people in my community and for the broader community of Sydney who don’t like hate, who don’t want division anymore and who don’t accept this kind of behaviour.”
She argued hate speech laws needed to be further strengthened.
A leader of one neo-Nazi group urged his “patriots” to “rhetorically rape Allegra Spender”, triggering hundreds of messages aimed at the federal MP.
“It is pretty shocking and not something you ever want to hear, but we’ve referred it to the police,” Ms Spender told ABC Radio.
“These are the real extremists out there. They’re trying to intimidate the broader mainstream community.”
She criticised police and the government for allowing the rally to proceed.
“It’s very unclear so far from the NSW government and also the NSW police what should have happened instead of what actually did happen,” Ms Spender said.
Barely six weeks into his new job, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon vowed to get to the bottom of a command-level decision not to oppose the gathering.
Organisers gave notice more than a week earlier and were given the green light because police had not flagged any public safety concerns, Mr Lanyon said.
That followed the force seeking advice on legal options about how a court challenge would fare.
“This group had protested before … we’ve also had interactions with them,” Mr Lanyon said.
“There had been no issue with public safety in those particular ones.
“We sought legal advice in terms of the content of what was in the banner that was to be used and we were told that there was no reasonable prospect of prosecuting on that.”
The police commissioner said riot squad officers had been deployed and there were sufficient officers on hand to ensure public safety would not be compromised.
The fringe group rallied outside parliament in June when participants wore black uniforms and displayed a banner with the words: “End Immigration”.
Brushing off suggestions some police officers were sympathetic to neo-Nazi messages, Mr Laynon said he found the group and its rhetoric odious.
Premier Chris Minns condemned the “vile” and “bigoted” abuse towards the two eastern Sydney MPs and vowed action on the rally .
“I’ll be reviewing the speeches to determine whether existing hate speech laws have been breached or not,” he said.
“We can’t let this happen again.”
Mr Minns dismissed suggestions of a double standard in how police curbed protests by climate and pro-Palestine groups compared with those from neo-Nazi extremists.
AAP
