White-power comes to Brisbane this Saturday when the
Hammerskins-sponsored Hammered Festival takes place in a secret location, one day after the anniversary of Hitler's birthday.
There has been fierce opposition to the festival since its
inception in 2010. The festival, which invites white-power, neo-Nazi, skinhead
and National Socialist bands to Brisbane, is not illegal so long as it remains
a private, invite-only event, however there are frequent calls for it to be
banned under the same laws that prevent hate-speech in public places.
Race Discrimination Commissioner for the Australian Human
Rights Commission Dr Helen Szoke commented on the festival, describing the
festival as “abhorrent to our community”, and added that the “theme of the music
festival goes against Australia’s multicultural values.”
There is criticism that failing to prevent the festival,
which Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia chairman Pino
Migliorino described as the work of the “lunatic fringe”, somehow serves to
condone the extreme political and social views held by participants. Mr Migliorino
was quick to dispel the idea that the inability to prevent the festival in any
way reflected the government or the Australian people’s feelings about racism.
“The reality is a great majority of Australians are not
racist and are comfortable with cultural and linguistic diversity,” said Mr
Migliorino. “It’s an appalling set of beliefs that they have.”
However, Executive Council of Australian Jewry (yes, that’s
what they’re called) president Dr Danny Lamm said he had written Dr Szoke and
other relevant ministers, fearing that the “appalling festival of hate” had
become an annual event and was drawing unwarranted attention to an extreme
subset of Australian society.
“What a sad reflection on contemporary Australia that the
state government of Queensland and the Queensland Police say they are powerless
to prevent an open-air festival celebrating racism and bigotry.”
The Queensland Police has maintained the position that as
long as it remains a private event, there is nothing they can do to prevent the
Hammered Festival going ahead, taking the position that if you’re not there,
you can’t be offended.
“As long as the group abides by the law, it is not a police
issue,” said a spokesperson for the Queensland Police Service.
In a less diplomatic statement, Qld Attorney-General Paul
Lucas said that his government would not stop the festival saying,
“We are not in the business of banning people who express
moronic, stupid and wrong points of view.”
The debate brings up some interesting questions regarding freedom
of speech, a fundamental doctrine of democracy, and calls into question the
ethics of censorship. This author is an advocate of freedom of speech, without
limitation. I feel it is up to people to be responsible for what they learn and
how they use that information. As such, I feel it is also up to people to be
responsible with the things they
learn and how they use them.
If people want to be skinheads and white-supremacists, I
suppose that’s their prerogative. Best not get involved, really. Let police
keep tabs on them, and don’t ever let them into a position where they can make
decisions for the rest of the country.
The Hammered Festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday
April 21, one day after Adolf Hitler’s birthday, which is not considered to be
a coincidence, and the festival is being organised by white supremacy organisations
the Southern Cross Hammer Skinheads and Blood and Honour, who have gained
notoriety due to connections to a number of violent crimes as well as having
the dubious honour of being a banned extremist hate-group in Germany. The
festival will take place in a secret location, and will feature bands who have
not been announced publically so as not to interfere with the musicians
travelling interstate or entering the country; a notable precaution as our
sedition laws have prevented less objectively dangerous musicians from entering
Australia before.
Karl Anderson
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