Lawyers representing the outlawed neo-Nazi political party, White Australia, have argued in the High Court that anti-hate laws, enacted following the Bondi terror attack, are "authoritarian in nature" and rely on a politician's opinion.
The White Australia party, previously known as the National Socialist Network (NSN), was designated an illegal hate group in May after a recommendation from the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
This designation means that activities such as supporting, funding, training, recruiting, or joining the group are criminal offences, carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The far-right nationalist party is challenging the ban over two days this week, with its lawyers contending that the law infringes upon the implied freedom of political communication and that granting the decision-making power to Minister Burke breaches the separation of powers. Barristers Peter King and Shahed Sharify argued on Tuesday that a total ban on the party was comparable to using a "sledgehammer on a nut."
The arguments focus on proving that part 5.3B of the criminal code, which permits the federal police minister to recommend to the governor-general that a group be listed as prohibited, is invalid. Sharify suggested that the law's breach of implied freedom of political communication was "authoritarian in nature" and could potentially be used to ban any political party if its members had threatened or engaged in a hate crime with the organisation's assistance.
The government is anticipated to defend the anti-hate laws, arguing that the White Australia party is not a political party but rather an arm of White Australia, which is itself a rebranded version of NSN. The Commonwealth stated in written submissions that "Forming a political party was a calculated attempt to secure legal protection for members engaging in openly racist and anti-Semitic speech."
Tom Sewell, the leader of the White Australia party, was present in the courtroom. In June, the 33-year-old was sentenced to a community corrections order, including 200 hours of community work, for offensive behaviour in public. A Melbourne magistrate found that Sewell had emulated "Nazi thugs of 1930s Berlin" by using "appalling racial slurs" during an incident outside a Chinese consulate.