Police are investigating after a Neo-Nazi group’s vile anti-gay posters mocking Pride Month and calling gay people “a walking disease” were put up in a Melbourne street.
The posters (pictured), which featured the web address of extreme neo-Nazi group Antipodean Resistance, were spotted along Chapel Street in the inner Melbourne suburb of Prahan over the weekend.
The posters read “Happy AIDS Month” with a caricature of a sickly man against a rainbow background.
Victoria Police said in a statement they were investigating the posters.
“Police are investigating a number of racist and homophobic posts on poles along Chapel Street, Prahran,” a spokesperson said.
“Police received a number of calls from the public regarding the posts.
“The posters have now been removed and police will review CCTV in the area as part of their investigation.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, the chair of civil rights organisation the Anti-Defamation Commission, condemned the “deplorable” posters “in the strongest possible terms.”
“There should be no room in Victoria for such contempt and hatred by a neo-Nazi group which is determined to vilify our diverse and vibrant LGBTIQ community, and send a message of fear and intimidation,” he told the Star Observer.
He said in the past few years there had been a surge in racist rhetoric and white supremacist activity across Australia.
“These kinds of deplorable attacks will certainly shake many to the core and warrant priority response from the police and government,” he said.
Posters and stickers featuring anti-gay, anti-Semitic and racist messages and bearing the Antipodean Resistance’s name have been spotted in cities around Australia in recent years.
During the marriage postal survey last year, homophobic stickers attributed to the group and featuring Nazi swastikas were seen at a university in Tasmania.
The group’s posters were reportedly put up at La Trobe University in Victoria in February, and in April it was reported that the group’s posters had been seen around Canberra.
Posters from the group calling for the execution of gay and Jewish people were also reportedly put up around Sydney in March.
