Arabic version: مبيعات تذكارات النازية تختبر قوانين أستراليا الخاصة برموز الكراهية

According to ABC News, federal hate symbol laws are being questioned after a Perth auction house sold thousands of dollars’ worth of Nazi memorabilia this year. The laws, passed by federal parliament in December 2024, ban public displays of the Nazi swastika and the “double-sig” SS rune, with prison terms available for offences. They also prohibit trading items bearing the symbols, subject to an exception for educational, academic or scientific purposes.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed that no-one had been prosecuted under the law, which was intended to prevent people profiting from “hateful ideologies”. Jamey Blewitt, owner of Perth-based JB Military Antiques, said Nazi memorabilia had accounted for up to 60 per cent of his revenue before the laws took effect, with up to 80 per cent of those items sold overseas.

Mr Blewitt said he stopped selling Nazi items when the law began, then resumed online auctions in January after establishing a subsidiary called JB Military Antiques Museum. The Criminal Code permits trade where a reasonable person would believe goods are intended for an educational purpose and the trade is not contrary to the public interest. Mr Blewitt said AFP officers visited his Morley shop following complaints and advised him he could risk arrest while legal advice was unclear; he removed the items from that auction.

Michael Levitt, president of the Jewish Community Council of WA, said sales normalised Nazi items and presented “a real hazard for Jewish people”, calling for stricter enforcement. Curtin University extremism expert Ben Rich argued symbol bans were a “waste of resources” if they did not address extremist ideas. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said a seller’s intent was not the most relevant consideration, and that the objective effect of the trade on Australia’s social fabric mattered.