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The Australian National University has condemned posters and stickers plastered to one of its entry signs belonging to a neo-Nazi group advocating for a white Australia. The university confirmed the material had been removed and issued a statement saying racism is abhorrent and will not be tolerated. Deputy vice-chancellor Professor Ian Anderson said there was absolutely no place for racism at the university or in society. “Our university is a place where we come together to live and learn, work and socialise as a community. To anyone who feels that ANU is less safe and less welcoming today, I want to reassure you that this is still your campus and your home,” Professor Anderson wrote in an email to students. A spokesman for the university said any member of its community found to be behaving in such an inappropriate way would face consequences. “If anyone on our campus sees these stickers, we urge them to tell ANU security who will remove them,” the spokesman said. The stickers and posters belonging to the National Socialist Network were discovered on Friday on the university’s Acton campus. Posters and stickers featured the phrase “Australia for the White Man”, taking an old masthead motto of long-running and now-closed magazine The Bulletin. The National Socialist Network has more than 2000 members on an encrypted messaging platform and targets young, white men to join the group. The network’s leader, Thomas Sewell, was arrested after allegedly assaulting a security guard at Channel Nine’s Melbourne offices earlier this month. The Canberra Times understands stickers belonging to the National Socialist Network were also found on the ANU’s campus last year. The university urged anyone who had been distressed by the stickers to seek support from the university’s services. Distribution of white supremacist material at university campuses globally is an ongoing issue, with the international Anti-Defamation League identifying more than 2700 incidents in the United States in 2019. Stickers advertising an Australian neo-Nazi organisation were found in prominent locations across Canberra in April 2018. The stickers belonged to a group describing itself as “the Hitlers you’ve been waiting for” and a “21st century Hitler youth”. ASIO’s 2019-20 annual revealed right-wing extremism occupied a third of the spy agency’s case load. “While we have maintained continuous and dedicated resources to this area, extremists such as neo-Nazis represent a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security,” the report read. “These groups are also becoming ideological: more aware of and committed to specific dogmas, philosophies and views. “They draw from a diversity of ideas and are attracting a younger membership who display few overt signs of their extremist ideology.” Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
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The Australian National University has condemned posters and stickers plastered to one of its entry signs belonging to a neo-Nazi group advocating for a white Australia.
The university confirmed the material had been removed and issued a statement saying racism is abhorrent and will not be tolerated.
Deputy vice-chancellor Professor Ian Anderson said there was absolutely no place for racism at the university or in society.
“Our university is a place where we come together to live and learn, work and socialise as a community. To anyone who feels that ANU is less safe and less welcoming today, I want to reassure you that this is still your campus and your home,” Professor Anderson wrote in an email to students.
A spokesman for the university said any member of its community found to be behaving in such an inappropriate way would face consequences.
“If anyone on our campus sees these stickers, we urge them to tell ANU security who will remove them,” the spokesman said.
The stickers and posters belonging to the National Socialist Network were discovered on Friday on the university’s Acton campus.
Posters and stickers featured the phrase “Australia for the White Man”, taking an old masthead motto of long-running and now-closed magazine The Bulletin.
The National Socialist Network has more than 2000 members on an encrypted messaging platform and targets young, white men to join the group.
The Canberra Times understands stickers belonging to the National Socialist Network were also found on the ANU’s campus last year.
The university urged anyone who had been distressed by the stickers to seek support from the university’s services.
Distribution of white supremacist material at university campuses globally is an ongoing issue, with the international Anti-Defamation League identifying more than 2700 incidents in the United States in 2019.
The stickers belonged to a group describing itself as “the Hitlers you’ve been waiting for” and a “21st century Hitler youth”.
“While we have maintained continuous and dedicated resources to this area, extremists such as neo-Nazis represent a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security,” the report read.
“These groups are also becoming ideological: more aware of and committed to specific dogmas, philosophies and views.
“They draw from a diversity of ideas and are attracting a younger membership who display few overt signs of their extremist ideology.”
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
