Written by: (Contributed) on 10 April 2026
(Pauline Hanson and SA One Nation leader Corey Bernardi. Photo: Charlie Gilchrist/InDaily)
Federal legislation against hate speech, driven by Zionist and anti-Palestinian advocacy groups, had one useful consequence with the laws prompting the National Socialist Network (NSN) to disband.
It might, however, eventually prove a questionable victory over the Australian far-right. By forcing them into an underground position Canberra has potentially made them more of a clandestine organisation using covert operations, and more difficult to identify and counter. The resurgence of two other right-wing front-type political organisations has also provided the far-right with a convenient cover for their neo-Nazi agendas and campaigns.
In mid-January the Australian neo-Nazi National Socialist Network (NSN) officially disbanded on account of pending legislation in Canberra. With military-style precision an official statement from their headquarters noted they would cease to be an open political party from 11.59 on Sunday 18 January 2026; their front organisations, including White Australia, the European Australian Movement and the White Australia Party, likewise, would also cease to exist.
The legislation had followed numerous reports and sightings of groups of black-clad men marching in formation, in both city and rural areas. The fact the neo-Nazis wore face masks to avoid detection made the organisation appear all the more sinister.
The existence of the neo-Nazi movement in Australia is not a recent problem but rests upon nearly a century of small political organisations which adhere to far-right ideologies. (1)
The far-right organisations, however, are rarely straightforward: there has been a long-held tendency for them to conceal themselves behind front organisations, not only to foster respectability but to also have a wider audience. Studies of the far-right Australian League of Rights (ALOR) from decades ago, for example, found that it was 'an extremist, neo-Nazi, anti-semitic, racist organisation … with … racism at the core of the leagues beliefs'. (2)
The ALOR is, furthermore, linked into international networks of like-minded organisations, including a listed affiliate of the shadowy World Anti-Communist League/World League for Freedom and Democracy (WACL/WLFD). (3) The shadowy conspiratorial networks had been established in the earliest days of the previous Cold War by the Taiwanese and South Korean intelligence agents as a public relations arm of pro-US far-right governments. (4)
The Australian connection was never solely confined to traditional far-right political organisations but tended to be broad-based and attached to centre-right organisations. In fact, it was noted in a study of the WACL and ALOR that 'Australia was represented largely by conservative members of Parliament, interspersed with neo-Nazis, racists, and Eastern European immigrants whose roots lay in the fascist collaborationist armies of WW2'. (5)
A CIA intelligence report which saw the light of day described the WACL as 'a neo-fascist umbrella organisation that assisted US intelligence operations'. (6) It is not particularly difficult to identify how the intelligence services use the far-right as agents.
Infiltration of legitimate political parties would appear a speciality of the far-right. Disclosures that neo-Nazis had infiltrated and spied on major Australian political parties as routine measures have tended to be met with blanket silence, a standard tactic when dealing with embarrassing and sensitive issues. (7) One recent investigation, nevertheless, found that the Australian far-right had managed to establish links to sensitive intelligence in Canberra together with gun clubs, while organising secretly on-line. (8)
Other studies have concluded with similar findings: it has been noted, for example, that the ALOR has infiltrated many different organisations, including churches. (9) It has tended to adopt the role of a 'deep organisation', while operating through open, front-type organisations. Studies have found that 'many groups shift identity and bob up again under slightly different names with the same people on the committee'. (10)
Two recent developments in Australia have provided the far-right with openings into wider movements, where they appear to have been made very welcome.
Early this year the far-right were responsible for organising the so-called March for Australia (MFA), which was a cover for attracting a broad-based collection of right-wing political organisations under a common umbrella. Organisers of the MFA openly invited former members of the NSN to participate in their activities and to 'merge into local chapters of the MFA movement'. (11) NSN figures were noted to have 'urged followers to build networks, draft propaganda and be ready and waiting for further directions'. (12)
White supremacist links with South Africa were also acknowledged by the MFA and noted as 'best friends outside the organisation'. (13) The former intelligence services of the Apartheid regime were no strangers to the cultivation of fellow travellers; they were supported to serve their purpose. Their history has been well recorded. (14)
There is also every reason to accept that the recent resurgence of One Nation, particularly in South Australia, will enable the far-right to enter circles of their supporters and other disaffected personnel which associate with that organisation. There is already a strong overlap of personnel, which identify with a common focus of racial profiling and white supremacist political positions.
In conclusion, the significance of both the MFA and One Nation can best be assessed in line with their European counterparts, which have received considerable support from the Trump administration as they are regarded 'as aligned with its agenda'. (15) Those associated with the MFA and One Nation tend to be of European ancestry.
Progressive forces in Australia should keep their eyes and ears open to the threat of the far-right and the nature of the support coming from the Trump administration, which would appear set on creating and maintaining political fifth column-type operations to serve 'US interests' in countries where serious questions have arisen about the presidential administration in the White House.
1. See: Nazis out of uniform – the dangers of neo-Nazi terrorism in Australia, Denis Freney, (Sydney, 1985).
2. How the right gets it wrong, The Age (Melbourne), 21 October 1988.
3. The League List, Inside the League, Scott Anderson and Jon Lee Anderson, (New York, 1986), Appendix, pp. 275-85.
4. Ibid., page 11 and page 47.
5. Inside the League, op.cit., page 59.
6. Quoted: The Beast Re-Awakens, Martin Lee, (London, 1997), page 189; and, Ted Serong, Anne Blair, (Melbourne, 2002), page 186.
7. See: Nazis claim their stamp on all parties, The Age (Melbourne), 13 July 1999.
8. “Private intel', The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 April 2025.
9. Age, op.cit., 21 October 1988; and, The League of Rights, Nazis out of Uniform, Denis Freney, (Sydney, 1985), Appendix One.
10. Age, ibid.
11. See: Extremists regroup into secret cells, 'waiting for what comes next', Australian, 16 February 2026.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. See: Fellow Travellers, Inside BOSS, Gordon Winter, London, 1981), Chapter 39, pp. 526-541.
15. MAGA allies across Europe face fallout, Australian, 24 March 2026.
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