Inquiry into Extremist Movements and Radicalism in Australia

We accept that extremist movements and actors pose a significant threat to the Australian Community. However, over the past two decades there has been a focus on the danger of Islamist extremism at the expense of proper attention being given to the resurgence of farright extremism.   As demonstrated by the Christchurch massacre, the danger of far-right extremism is all too real, can be fostered by Australian far-right movements, and can result in tragedy close to home.

The problem of extremism should not be conceptualised as something that happens ‘over there’ outside the norm. It is very much a product of the norm, a part and parcel of the society we live in and the structures and systems we participate in each day. Extremism is a symptom that something in society is not right. It is not the illness itself. Finding ways to silence right-wing extremism or Islamist extremism will not cure the problem, it will mask it until a new form of extremism arises