Police find no offence at neo-Nazi rally as government keeps hate speech review secret

A neo-Nazi leader who promoted a conspiracy theory about the Jewish community during a protest outside NSW Parliament did not breach racial vilification laws, according to a NSW Police review, as debate intensifies over the strength and clarity of the state’s hate speech regime.

The finding, first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald on 1 April, relates to a rally on 8 November last year where more than 60 members of the National Socialist Network gathered outside Parliament House in Sydney.

Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told parliament that “a subsequent review of the actions of the protesters conducted after the protest identified no offence”.

During the rally, neo-Nazi leader Joel Davis used a megaphone to promote a baseless claim that the Jewish community had orchestrated synagogue firebombings for political gain. There is no evidence to support the allegation. Australia’s domestic intelligence chief Mike Burgess has previously said the agency believes Iran sponsored several such attacks in Australia.

Protesters at the rally chanted “blood and honour”, a slogan linked to the Hitler Youth, and displayed a banner calling for the abolition of the “Jewish lobby”.

The police assessment comes as the NSW government faces mounting pressure to release an independent review into the state’s hate speech laws, conducted by former Supreme Court judge John Sackar KC.

The report was handed to Attorney-General Michael Daley on 5 November, days before the rally, but has not been made public. The Minns government confirmed this week it would reject an order from the NSW upper house to release it, citing cabinet confidentiality.

Premier Chris Minns has said the findings will not be released until the government finalises its position on further reforms.

The refusal has drawn criticism from crossbench MPs, with Greens member Amanda Cohn warning it undermines transparency as parliament considers expanding hate speech laws.

The current laws, introduced in 2025, made racial vilification a criminal offence. The government argued the changes were needed to respond to rising antisemitism. However, only two convictions have been secured since the provisions came into force.

Legal groups and experts have raised concerns about how the laws operate in practice. The NSW Law Reform Commission previously warned that key terms such as “hatred” could be difficult to prove to a criminal standard, creating uncertainty and limiting prosecutions. The Law Society of New South Wales has also cautioned that the complexity of the laws may deter police from pursuing charges.

At the same time, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal has argued the laws do not go far enough. She has called for a lower threshold, including shifting the test from “inciting hatred to “promoting hatred” and removing the requirement to prove a reasonable member of the targeted group would fear harm.

Other submissions to the review urged broader protections for communities targeted on the basis of religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability, arguing the current framework is too narrow.

The debate comes amid a broader tightening of laws in NSW following a series of antisemitic incidents and the Bondi terror attack. The government has since moved to ban public displays of Nazi symbols and is considering further restrictions on extremist slogans.

Davis, who led the November rally, remains in custody on a separate federal charge after allegedly encouraging supporters online to target Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.