A parliamentary inquiry into the rise of far-right extremism in Victoria has heard children as young as 10 are being radicalised.
The inquiry is investigating how mainstream and social media has influenced a surge in right-wing nationalism, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic fuelled the proliferation of misinformation and neo-Nazi groups.
Investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, who infiltrated a neo-Nazi group, told the inquiry one of the biggest concerns was the increasing number of children being radicalised.
"[This group] is dedicated to recruiting young, impressionable Victorians, and is having some success in doing so," McKenzie said.
McKenzie said deradicalisation programs were falling short of countering the influence of extremism, and called for the committee to conduct an audit.
"Our deradicalisation programs in the prison system, others targeted at schools, aren't actually working," McKenzie said.
"Certainly talking to contacts across law enforcement, they're regarded as a bit of a joke."
Expert says Australia has seen rise in far-right 'lone attackers'
The Victorian Greens called for the inquiry into far-right extremism last year, following concerns Victoria had become a "hotbed" for fringe groups.
In January 2021, police investigated after a group of white supremacists rallied at The Grampians in western Victoria chanting "Heil Hitler" and white power slogans.
Less than nine months later, what initially began as a rally against mandatory vaccines in the construction industry soon turned into several high-profile, violent protests, after they attracted the attendance of far-right agitators, anti-vaxxers, and conspiracy theorists.
Charles Sturt University Australian domestic security expert Kristy Campion told the inquiry that while it was hard to measure whether far-right extremism had grown in Victoria, extremists were becoming more unpredictable.
"Obviously we have been experiencing right-wing extremism for over a century, but what we are seeing at the minute with lone attackers motivated by extreme right-wing ideology is a level of unpredictability that perhaps didn't exist in Australia in the past," she said.
Dr Campion said in the 1990s and leading up to the 2000s, extremism activity was largely organised by cohesive groups.
"What we have seen in Australia in recent years is a series of either lone or small-cell actors who are not at the behest of an organisation and who have an entirely different set of internal constraints," she said.
"I can't say it's quantitatively worse but it is changing."
Liberty group warns against authoritarian response to rise of the far-right
Michael Stanton, president of civil liberties group Liberty Victoria, told the inquiry the pandemic was being used by extremist groups to help bolster memberships.
But he warned that while the threat of extremism was real, governments must not erode civil liberties when trying to counter the influence of extremists.
"We need to make sure that in responding to those confronting scenes in the Grampians, whether it be Nazi salutes, displays of the swastika or the erection of gallows outside parliament, that we do not have a legislative response that throws the baby out with the bathwater," he said.
Mr Stanton said institutional transparency, repairing faith in the government and media, and separation of powers were "absolutely fundamental" in combating right-wing extremism.
He also cautioned against stigmatising and lumping all anti-lockdown protesters into the same category as far-right extremists.
"There is no conveyer belt from exposure to extremist ideology to violence," Mr Stanton said.
"If they feel disrespected then this only will reinforce the message of those extremists that the government isn't to be trusted."
Victoria moves to ban Nazi symbol in public
The Victorian government introduced legislation into parliament in May to ban the Nazi swastika symbol, as part of an expansion of anti-vilification laws.
Anyone who intentionally displays the Nazi symbol in public will face penalties of up to almost $22,000, 12 months' imprisonment, or both, when the laws come into effect in 2023.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria told the inquiry the organisation saw a surge in anti-Semitic incidents in 2020, and said Victoria urgently needed a strategy to tackle online hate.
