 (flag) | |
| Abbreviation | AR |
|---|---|
| Named after | 'Antipodes' meaning related toAustralia andNew Zealand |
| Successor | National Socialist Network |
| Formation | 12 October 2016[1]; (9 years ago) |
| Founded at | Melbourne |
| Type | Neo-Nazihate group |
| Legal status | Active. In violation of The Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tasmania).[2] Associated with proscribed American and British terrorist groups and organisations[3] Monitored by state and federal law enforcement includingASIO[4] |
| Purpose | Neo-Nazism[1] White supremacy Antisemitism Homophobia Fascism Australian nationalism Anti-multiculturalism Anti-Chinese sentiment Anti-immigration |
| Headquarters | Melbourne[1] |
| Location |
|
| Origins | Melbourne |
Region | Primarily inVictoria andNew South Wales |
Official language | English |
Parent organization | Iron March |
| Affiliations | National Action (UK) Nordic Resistance Movement Atomwaffen Division |
Antipodean Resistance (AR) is an Australianneo-Nazihate group.[5] The group, formed in October 2016, uses the slogan "We're the Hitlers you've been waiting for" and makes use ofNazi symbols such as theswastika and theNazi salute. AR's logo features theBlack Sun andTotenkopf (death's head) with anAkubra hat, alaurel wreath and a swastika.[1]
Antipodean Resistance promotes and incites hatred and violence, distributingracist,homophobic andantisemitic posters and propaganda. In 2018, its website was shut down by its hosting provider.ASIO, Australia's national security agency, has been monitoring the group since at least 2017.
Antipodean Resistance (AR) was formed on the now-defunctIron March website, which was afar-right website describing itself as afascistsocial network, and which appears to have been home to manywhite supremacists,neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists.[6] Members of the website formed groups such asAtomwaffen Division and Antipodean Resistance.[7] Tim Heibach (aka Xav, aka Mathew Baston, aka Matty B) was a founding member of Antipodean Resistance, and other members includedJacob Hersant.[8]
AR has attracted attention for its Nazi-inspired vandalism in major cities in Australia. It has targeted schools in Melbourne with significant ethnic minority populations, placing posters carrying messages such as "Keep Australia White" and "Australia For The White Man" along with several other racial slurs targetingAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,Chinese Australians andAfrican Australians which were described as "vile and disgusting" by the Victorian education ministerJames Merlino.[9] The group also placed a series ofChinese-language posters at numerous university campuses threatening Chinese students with deportation.[10]
In the lead-up to theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey, AR targeted churches, universities and public places withhomophobic propaganda linking same-sex marriage and paedophilia.[11][12]
In 2018, theNSW Nationals unanimously adopted a resolution banning 22 people for life after an investigation into alleged infiltration by people with links to neo-Nazi and fascist groups. The resolution also banned any party member from joining a number of specific organisations, including Antipodean Resistance.
In 2020, the Antipodean Resistance and another far-right group, theLads Society, allegedly formed theNational Socialist Network.[13][14]
The membership of AR is reported to be very small. The group is only open to who are "able to take a hit" for their beliefs. Members assume apseudonym in an attempt to remain anonymous. Media outlets have reported that AR have organised secret radicalisation camps in remote forests.[15] AR has been banned from a number of social media and online hosting platforms.[1]
Several counter-terrorism experts have suggested authorities should focus more on far-right extremists such as Antipodean Resistance.Anne Aly, theLabor MP, in 2017 suggested that the group may turn to terrorism, stating "For a terrorist attack to succeed, it really only takes one person." She called for the group to be banned, stating "I would like to see some of these groups proscribed ... as terrorist and violent organisations."[11]
It was reported in 2017 thatASIO, the Australian national security organisation, was monitoring the group, who were "willing to use violence to further their own interests."[16]
This is reflected in the logo most commonly used, that of the Totenkopf mask and Akubra-style hat perched above a swastika, with the background being the Black Sun (Schwarze Sonne in German) symbol, also known as the Sun Wheel (sonnenrad in German), surrounded by a wreath.
According to extremist experts, two right-wing groups, the Lads Society and Antipodean Resistance, recently helped form a new Australian extremist outfit, the National Socialist Network, which in turn helped organise the 38 young white men to assemble in the Grampians over the Australia Day weekend.
