In the early hours of Saturday, June 1, members of the far-right extremist group, the National Socialist Network, gathered outside Northland Shopping Centre in Preston to stage a racist protest.
Dressed in black and with their faces covered, the group unfurled a banner with offensive messaging — “Ban N-ers Not Machetes” — and filmed themselves chanting “fight back” in front of the shopping centre.
Premier denounces ‘cowards’ in neo-Nazi protest as police investigate
The Nazi-aligned protest took place at around 3:30 a.m. and was in reference to a violent incident last week involving rival youth gangs — some of whose members were of African descent. The right-wing extremist protest drew strong condemnation from Premier Allan.
“This is disgusting behaviour by a group of cowards who seek to do nothing more than intimidate and spread hatred — we will not stand for it,” Premier Jacinta Allen said, in a statement sent to Neos Kosmos.
The Premier said that her government “has introduced more powers for police to deal with people who whip up hate and fear against Victorians because of who they are.”
“We have already banned the Nazi symbol and gesture. Now we are unmasking Nazis through our protest laws, and we are making it impossible for them to function by putting their vilifying threats and incitements in the Crimes Act — where they belong.”
Northland violence sparks government crackdown on machetes
On Tuesday, 28 May, a brawl involving machetes broke out at Northland Shopping Centre and a 20-year-old man was seriously injured. Victoria Police have so far arrested and charged seven individuals in connection with what they describe as a pre-planned gang fight.
A local coffee shop owner at Northland, who requested anonymity, told Neos Kosmos that while the brawl was concerning, public reaction may have been exaggerated.
“People were over the top, screaming that shots were fired and running around like crazy, which wasn’t the case,” he said.
“It was stupid kids doing dangerous and stupid things — but shoppers made it worse with their panic.”
In response to the violence, the Victorian Government took swift action. On Wednesday, 29 May, Premier Jacinta Allan announced an immediate ban on the retail sale of machetes across Victoria, ahead of a full legislative ban coming into effect on 1 September.
The interim measure prohibits the sale of machetes — defined as large, broad-bladed cutting knives — both in-store and online.
Victoria Police are currently investigating the extremist protest and gang violence and have called on the public to assist. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
