{"id":679215,"date":"2026-05-18T19:27:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679215\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T19:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:27:26","slug":"neo-nazi-national-socialist-network-launches-high-court-fight-against-hate-speech-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679215\/","title":{"rendered":"Neo-Nazi National Socialist Network launches High Court fight against hate speech laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Neo-Nazis have lodged a constitutional challenge in the High Court against new federal laws outlawing them as a hate group as they fight to form a political party.<\/p>\n

The National Socialist Network disbanded on paper in January <\/a>in an attempt to escape the government\u2019s crackdown on extremism under which its members and supporters face up to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n

But on Friday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke proscribed the group anyway, noting members had continued to organise covertly, \u201cphoenixing\u201d under new names such as White Australia.<\/p>\n

\"ThomasThomas Sewell (left) with NSN figures (L-R) Jimeone Roberts, Nathan Bull and Jacob Hersant, outside the Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court in September.The Age<\/p>\n

Within days of the NSN disbanding, its leader, Thomas Sewell, had raised<\/a> a war chest of more than $150,000 for his efforts to challenge the laws in court.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Australia\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Documents released by the High Court on Monday reveal the group plans to use the reinstatement of the once-banned Communist Party of Australia \u2013 its ideological enemies \u2013 in the appeal, arguing that a government banning even \u201can unfashionable political party\u201d infringes on the implied right to political freedom in Australia, and gives punitive power to the government without judicial review.<\/p>\n

The group is seeking an immediate injunction voiding the proscription of the NSN \u2013 and any resulting arrests \u2013 until the appeal is heard. The case was filed by Sewell\u2019s long-time lawyer, Matthew Hopkins, who has himself posted<\/a> antisemitic and racist views online.<\/p>\n

Despite claiming to have disbanded, neo-Nazis of the NSN have continued<\/a> to meet in person this year, including under the banner of the March for Australia anti-immigration rallies they helped<\/a> organise around the country.<\/p>\n

Last week, Sewell and other senior NSN figures admitted they had also continued with their plans to form a neo-Nazi political party, submitting the paperwork to register the \u201cWhite Australia\u201d party \u2013 with Sewell as party president \u2013 to the Australian Electoral Commission on Anzac Day.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Stirling<\/a><\/p>\n

On Friday, hours before the group\u2019s midnight designation as a hate group, Sewell posted a video, which he said he hoped was not his final address.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf our High Court injunction fails, then the fate of liberal democracy dies with the fate of white Australia, and you will be able to say to your grandchildren you were present when honorable men tried the peaceful method of resisting a government that is hell-bent on the destruction of our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere online, prominent neo-Nazis told followers to research US neo-Nazi terror group the Order, which the NSN lionises, as their political options \u201cdried up\u201d. \u201cDemocracy is dead,\u201d wrote one former NSN member. \u201cAct accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, this masthead revealed the extent of the NSN\u2019s entanglement with terrorists and extremist groups<\/a> overseas, and uncovered a secret chatroom run by March for Australia organisers and the NSN where an alleged $10,000 plot to kidnap Prime Minister Anthony Albanese<\/a>, along with other threats, had led to multiple police raids.<\/p>\n

The NSN\u2019s political push \u2013 as revealed by this masthead in April<\/a> \u2013 is part of its broader efforts to rebrand as \u201ceveryday Australians\u201d concerned about immigration to recruit followers and use political expression as a shield against hate speech laws.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

In outlawing the group on Friday, the home affairs minister noted the NSN\u2019s involvement in violence, including an alleged attack on women and elderly people at an Indigenous camp in Melbourne last year, over which more than a dozen members, including Sewell, face charges.<\/p>\n

A new Telegram channel set up by the NSN in recent weeks<\/a>, called Australian Vanguard, shut down on Friday as the news of the proscription broke. Before it went dark, the channel warned that if all legal and political avenues were exhausted, \u201cwhat avenues do [the government] think realistically remain? Do they think whites will submit?\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal government has also designated Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a hate group under the new laws, again at the recommendation of spy agency ASIO.<\/p>\n

Since the NSN formally disbanded, Sewell has increasingly appeared on far-right manfluencer<\/a> podcasts online, including alongside designated terrorist James Mason.<\/p>\n

Some right-wing associates of the neo-Nazis said they were seeking legal advice about the proscription on Friday, and March for Australia lead organiser Bec Freedom<\/a> wiped her group\u2019s main Telegram chat.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"SherrynSherryn Groch<\/a> is a journalist at The Age covering crime. Email her at s.groch@nine.com.au or contact her securely on Signal @SherrynG.70Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-679215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}