The extreme right is rising. What can Australia do about it?

Parliamentarians have spent a heck of a lot of time this year hearing from intelligence agencies and law enforcement bodies about the increasing visibility of extremist groups.

Back in April, ASIO chief Mike Burgess said about 40% of the intelligence body’s work is related to ideologically inspired extremists. Six months later, Burgess had upped the number to 50%. Islamist groups and their individual adherents make up the balance.

There’s a smorgasbord of extremist characters believing in all manner of wacky, weird and not so wonderful things that have emerged from the shadows at protests or online. The questions are, is the government doing enough to combat them, and if not, what else could it do?

Here’s a list of what MPs should consider as they reflect on what to do to minimise the influence of extremist groups and their propagandists.

Proscription of groups

Proscription of groups as terrorist groups under Australian law takes place now. It is necessary in order to make it harder for those that are adherents to ideologies that advocate extreme violence as a solution to problems.

One area that merits further consideration is for the Australian government to move in lockstep with Five Eyes allies and proscribe organisations as and when they are proscribed by countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

Australia currently has more Islamist groups on its list of proscribed organisations that it does far-right groups. There are only two far-right groups listed. This is understandable given the focus on Islamic State and al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks, but there is a need to ensure that similar steps are taken for groups that are dedicated to violent extremism in the pursuit of ideologies other than global jihadism.

Proscription of individuals

Both Canada and New Zealand have in recent times proscribed individuals. New Zealand proscribed the Christchurch shooter, and Canada’s legal eagles proscribed James Mason, the author of a range of articles that form the basis of essential doctrine for far-right extremists. Australia should also have the same capacity to proscribe an individual, but the process must have appropriate judicial oversight so proscription is subject to stringent legal review.

Initiatives to remove extremist content

Owners of platforms that supply the channels through which violent extremists communicate need to be encouraged or incentivised to remove accounts that relate to ideologically motivated violent extremism. Encrypted messaging platform Telegram publishes daily updates on the number of jihadist and child abuse channels that they remove. These updates demonstrate platforms are able to intervene and remove accounts that are aimed at planning and coordinating violent extremist activity.

Increase digital literacy

Studies from groups such as the RAND Corporation, the Soufan Center and the Oxford Internet Institute have consistently pointed to the willingness of extremist groups as well as state-based actors to use social media to seek to promote narratives that are intended to create or capitalise on existing social disquiet.

An important part of minimising the influence of extremists and their networks and state-based bad actors is to promote greater digital literacy. It is important that there is an understanding of how the various platforms are used to publish propaganda intended to misinform. Journalists such as Crikey’s own Cam Wilson and others lift the veil on practices designed to prey on the vulnerable, but a broad-based educational campaign funded by governments to promote the notion of people being sceptical when they read online content is essential.

Curriculum in schools

US musician and race reconciler Daryl Davis told Crikey earlier this year that much of what goes on in society where prejudice is concerned stems from ignorance. Davis assisted America’s former top Nazi, Jeff Schoep, to start the process of disengaging with the ideology when he interviewed him for his 2016 documentary Accidental Courtesy. The story of Davis and Schoep is one of discourse and dialogue that causes people to have their thinking challenged. It is also a reminder that racism and hatred is learned — and can be unlearned.

For some people, that unlearning can come with great personal pain and contrition. Former Nazi Fred Cook discovered he was related to Jews when he decided to undertake further research into his own background after leaving the white supremacist movement. Cook set himself on the pathway of converting to Judaism once he discovered that the very people he had been vilifying were in fact his own people.

There must be a commitment from governments to ensure curriculums across Australia are developed so schools teach comparative philosophy and comparative belief systems. People understand that the world is seen in different ways by people who are from different parts of the world. The only way to build understanding is to expose people to different concepts and ideas, and the education system provides a foundation for developing a broader worldview.