Scouts NSW have unwittingly became caught-up in an investigation into neo-Nazis in Sydney after the group were spotted at a scout hall on Sydney's north shore. The scouts say they handed over the keys for what they were told would be a family friendly birthday party.
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00:00 They were confronting scenes on Australia Day. A pack of neo-Nazis, many hiding behind
00:07 masks. Off camera, on the train network, police ordered them to remove their disguises.
00:13 This is the first time that these neo-Nazis have ever been identified. The police know
00:20 exactly who they are.
00:23 Some are already well known to authorities, like leader Thomas Sewell, who has criminal
00:27 convictions in Victoria. The government says while 27 of those stopped were from New South
00:33 Wales, 24 were from Victoria, 6 came from South Australia, 5 were Queenslanders and
00:39 4 travelled from Tasmania.
00:41 On Saturday, some of the extremists were spotted at this Scout Hall on the city's north shore.
00:46 A Scout's representative says a couple with a child picked up the keys and that the online
00:51 booking form promised a combined casual 30th birthday party and belated Australia Day weekend
00:58 get together with friends. Many will have young children. It will be a family-friendly
01:02 event.
01:03 The state government is threatening to name and shame members of the group, but some experts
01:08 think that could backfire.
01:09 For people around the fringes of the movement that may just be beginning to get involved,
01:14 potentially unmasking them might be counterproductive because it starts then to block their options
01:19 for leaving these movements behind.
01:22 So what more can be done to try to stop these kinds of groups airing their views in public?
01:27 New South Wales has already banned the display of Nazi symbols like the swastika, but whether
01:32 that extends to Nazi salutes is yet to be tested in the courts.
01:37 I want to make it clear that if that legal barrier isn't cleared, we will move legislation
01:44 to outlaw racist Nazi ideology.
01:48 If there are technical reasons to tweak the law, then we'd certainly be interested in
01:52 cooperating.
01:53 There's no place for these kinds of grubs in a civilised society.
01:57 Clamping down on an ever-moving target.
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