Australian Greens Anti-Racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to reports that police have arrested two Australian men and found a bomb during raids on the homes of members of a neo-Nazi group.
Senator Faruqi said:
"This is a downright terrifying development. There can be no more denials or deflections of the violent far-right threat. These people are deadly serious.
"While the threat has escalated dramatically in recent months, the government is no closer to presenting any sort of coherent strategy for combating far-right extremism. This is negligence of the highest order.
"There is violence inherent to far-right, fascist politics. Muslims, Jews and other targets of far-right terror know this all too well. Our government ignores it at all our peril. And then it will be too late.
"We require a zero tolerance approach. Laws on extremism and hate speech must be enforced and strengthened. Governments must unambiguously commit to anti-racism. Community programs to counter the far-right require significant investment. There is no time to waste."
