Federal MP Allegra Spender and state MP Kellie Sloane have reported threats they received following their condemnation of Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside New South Wales parliament.
The alleged threats included death threats, as well as a call on the neo-Nazi’s Telegram channel to “rhetorically rape” Spender.
In a statement on the threats against her, Spender told the ABC she’s “not easily intimidated”, adding that the group “are extremists” and “do not represent Australian values”.
Addressing the hate and death threats she faced, Sloane spoke to ABC radio, saying she would “not be intimidated by this group or by people who support them”.
“I will not be bullied out of saying what I think, and I will stand up for people in my community and for the broader community of Sydney who don’t like hate,” Sloane said.
Saturday’s rally saw about 60 men hold a banner outside the NSW parliament calling for the abolition of the “Jewish lobby”. Speakers were reportedly voicing antisemitic narratives.
The state government has been criticised for its handling of the rally, given that it occurred after new laws came into effect in August aimed at making it a crime to intentionally incite hatred against people because of their race, nationality or ethno-religious background.
Spender has described the response from the NSW government and police as a “stuff-up”.
“What does it say to people, when you go: “We’ve got these new [hate speech] laws, but we’re not going to do anything if we think people are in breach of that,” she said.
NSW premier Chris Minns and NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon have said the protest was able to go ahead on Saturday due to a failure of communication.
Lanyon has said the police are investigating the rally to gain evidence to step in if there is another filing for such an event.
Minns said, on Monday, that he does not know how high with NSW police an application for the rally reached, after it was automatically approved.
“Obviously I take the commissioner at his word and [police minister Yasmin Catley] at her word that they weren’t aware of it. I know I wasn’t part of the review.”
Minns added that the government is investigating whether hate speech laws, including a ban on Nazi symbols, can be expanded to include “Nazi speech, Nazi behaviours on Sydney streets”.
He also said the government is seeking to “clarify and codify” to make sure an approved form 1 protest application doesn’t give protesters a “free pass” under hate speech laws.
Asked about the threats allegedly received by Sloane and Spender, Minns told reporters on Monday that they were “another example of what particularly women in public life have to put up with”.
“My hat’s off to both of them, the fact that they’re prepared to stand up, put their views, put their beliefs for civic life in New South Wales.”