'Myopic' focus on extremism hurting monitoring of far-right movement, Victorian inquiry told

A "myopic" focus on Islamist extremism in Australia since 2001's September 11 attacks in the United States has come at the expense of monitoring the far-right movement, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry has been told.

Liberty Victoria President Michael Stanton acknowledged far-right extremism is real but suggested politicians must be careful not to blindly expand executive powers, surveillance and censorship to combat its influence.