Victoria becomes the first Australian state to criminalize the public display of swastika.
In June, 2022, the Australian state of Victoria passed a bill banning the public display of swastikas, thereby becoming the first state in the country to criminalize the public use of the Nazi symbol.
This means that any person deliberately displaying a swastika publicly will now commit a criminal offense and will face fines of up to 22,000 Australian dollars (15.000 USD) and/or imprisonment.
The bill contains exemptions for members of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions to whom the swastika is historically a symbol of peace.
Chairman of Australia’s Anti-Defamation Commission Dr. Dvir Abramovich has been campaigning for this outcome for five years, and was the only member of the public to be present at the Victorian Parliament’s Legislative Council when the bill was passed.
“We have toiled for years to reach this glorious and hard-won moment of victory, and this fateful day is the culmination of a long and faithful struggle to defeat the forces of evil, who seek not only to break our spirits but to instill fear,” said Abramovich.
Abramovich went on to express his “everlasting gratitude” to the government for passing the bill.
“As a government, we want to do all we can to stamp out hate and give it no room to grow,” said Australia’s attorney-general Jaclyn Symes.
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