Controversy Erupts as UK National Faces Deportation Over Alleged Nazi Symbol Display

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The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the 43-year-old earlier this month after an investigation was launched in October into the UK citizen, who allegedly shared the Nazi Hakenkreuz symbol on X and spread pro-Nazi ideology, advocating violence towards the Jewish community.

Weapons, including swords bearing Nazi symbols, axes and knives, were seized from his home in November.

Speaking to ABC News on Wednesday, Burke said when it comes to cancelling visas, he has “no time for hatred”.

“When you come to Australia on a visa, you are considered a guest. Most individuals on visas are respectful and welcomed guests in our country. However, if someone arrives with the intent to spread hate, they need to leave,” stated a government official.

Speaking on proposed changes that would increase the minister’s power to cancel visas, Burke said the department currently has to prove someone has engaged in hate speech or vilification, as well as its impact on the Australian community.

“My view is that the incitement of hate should be enough,” Burke said.

“That, of itself, says you are not a welcome guest in this country and we should be able to cancel visas on that basis alone.”

Earlier this month, South African neo-Nazi Matthew Gruter was compelled to exit Australia after his visa was revoked. His participation in a rally outside the New South Wales Parliament, organized by the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network, led to this decision.

Gruter was one of 60 black-clad demonstrators who assembled outside NSW parliament, yelling Hitler Youth chants and holding a banner calling to “abolish the Jewish lobby” on 8 November.

Burke said at the time the department was “setting a standard for Australia”.

Standing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, Burke announced the proposed changes to the minister’s power to cancel visas, as well as proposed changes to customs laws to make it easier for hate symbols to be intercepted at the border and establishing a new form of listing for organisations that have not been listed as terrorist organisations.

On Tuesday, Burke remarked, “We aim to ensure that those who preach hate, even if they have technically stayed within the confines of Australian law, face consequences. We want to lower the threshold so that statements deemed horrific and unacceptable by any reasonable Australian can be criminalized.”

“Similarly, for organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazis that have kept themselves just on the legal side of Australian law but never on the side of the Australian community … the thresholds will be lowered to allow them to be listed organisations under a new regime,” Burke said.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, a global Islamic political party, has been active since its founding in 1953.

The charges in question include threatening violence against groups, publicly displaying forbidden terrorist organization symbols, and 13 counts of either publicly displaying banned Nazi symbols or performing the Nazi salute.

On Tuesday, a new national database published by the Australian Institute of Criminology was launched to help law enforcement agencies track and tackle hate crimes.

Burke told ABC News the database, which was fast-tracked after the Bondi terror attack on 14 December that claimed 15 lives, is an “extra tool that we have to measure how effective our hate laws are”.

According to the National Hate Crimes Database, there were 18 hate-related charges under Commonwealth legislation between July 2024 and June 2025.

While neither the federal nor the state and territory governments have specific ‘hate crime’ offences legislated, the institute said the data pertains to offences with characteristics that could be interpreted as hate-related under the legislation.

The charges include one offence of threatening force or violence against groups, four offences of public display of prohibited terrorist organisation symbols and 13 offences of public display of prohibited Nazi symbols or giving Nazi salute.

However, the number of offences does not reflect the number of offenders, as one person can be charged with multiple offences.

The dashboard is in its first phase, and Burke said it will be developed further over time.

“I want to, over time to go deeper into this, be able to start getting better categories than we currently have, also potentially look at not waiting for convictions but getting a sense of charges and reports as well.”

SBS News has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.

— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press