• Maeve@kbin.earth
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    1 day ago

    A neo-Nazi group has been told it cannot become a political party if it continues to redact the names of its potential members, as it launches a legal challenge to being designated as a banned hate group.

    The White Australia party, also known as the National Socialist Network, and its national president Thomas Sewell launched a constitutional challenge in the high court of Australia on Friday against the ban by the federal government.

    In a cover letter sent to the Australia Electoral Commission (AEC) on 25 April as part of its application to form a political party, the group said it intentionally provided a redacted list of 1,779 members to protect members’ identification.

    The group said it plans to submit its membership details – and progress its application – pending a decision by the high court, with a spokesperson saying it did not want to “doxx” its members. The group has requested a court order to prevent the commonwealth from taking any action against the group while the constitutional challenge is under way.