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C BINET

fN

CONFIDENCE

No.

13385

(SEC)

Ms Jackson

Mr o n y b e r e

CIRCULATION: Secur i ty Committee Minis te rs

DEPARTMENTS Attorney-Genera l s

Foreign f fa i r s

and

Trade

Immigration, Local Government

Ethnic

f fa i r s

ASIO

~ ~

C BINET IN

CONfiDENCE

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,

Title

Date

Originating

Department s)

Cabinet or

Ministerial

Authority for

Memorandum

Purpose of

Memorandum

Legislation

Consultation:

Departments

consulted

Is there

agreement?

Cost:

This fiscal

year

. year 2

.

year

3

CABINET-IN-CONFIDENCE

SECRET. .

67

[ 6

EMORANDUM No

.....

..................

OR C BINET

11

OPY No ....... .......... .......... ..

CHANGED PA ITERN OF VIOLENCE BY RACIST GROUPS

IN AUSTRALIA

18 October

1989

Australian Security Intelligence

Organization

ASIO)

N/A

To inform

Cabinet of

a

change

in the nature of violence

by

two

Australian racist groups, National Action and

Australian

Nationalists Movement

N/A

Department of Prime Minister

and

Cabinet

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Attorney-General s

Department

Department

oflmmigration,Local Government and EthnicAffairs

Yes

Nil

This

document

1s

the property of the Australian Government and IS not to be cop1ed or reproduced

C A B I N ~ l J ~ t r f ~ F I D E N C E

..

i \.

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CABINET IN CONFIDENCE

2

INTRODUCTION

This

Memorandum

considers the

recent

manifestations

of

racial violence

by

two groups currently targeted by ASIO,

the

racist, National Action (NA), and

the

Perth-based

neo-N

azi, Australian Nationalists

Movement

(ANM). More

specifically,

the

Memorandum identifies a recent change in

the

nature of their

violence.

2

Prior

to late 1988, there was a relatively low incidence

of

violence from

NA and ANM.

Of

the incidents reported to ASIO, most could be

attributed

to NA

and

while

some were serious,

such

as

the

firebombing of a vehicle owned

by

an anti

apartheid campaigner and damage to the home of

the then Minister

for Immigration

and Ethnic Affairs,

Mr

Hurford the bulk involved harassment and vandalism. The

ANM

a

breakaway

faction

ofNA

was

also

implicated

in

racially

inspired activities

in Perth prior to 1988. However, these were

limited

to the distribution

of

racist

propaganda.

3. The bipartisan approach to

immigration

policy prior to 1988

and the

.

relatively

low level of public debate on this

and

multiculturalism provided

little

stimulus to the activities ofNA and ANM. Given this relatively low incidence

of

racial violence and the

small

number of people believed to

be

actively involved in the

promotion

of

the

two groups

activities

(believed

at

the time

to

be

no more

than

20),

ASIO assessed

the

threat of violence from NA and ANM to be low.

4. Since late 1988, however, the number and

intensity of incidents of

racial

violence attributed to ANM or NAhas increased

and

this has caused ASIO tore

assess

the threat.

The growing intensity of the debate on immigration and

multiculturalism and

the publicity given to the level

and

direction of

Japanese

investment may have

contributed

to this

change

in NA and

ANM activities. Both

groups

seek

to

exploit

the immigration

and

multiculturalism

debate

to

increase

racial tension in

the

community

and

have produced vitriolic anti-Asian propaganda

for this end.

5. Consistent with this

change

in the activities

of the

groups, ASIO

increased

its coverage

of

both and has worked in close collaboration with

the

New

South Wales and Western Australia Police in investigating acts

of

racial violence.

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OVERVIEW

6.

NA

aims to establish an Australian republic with a

new

constitution and

a

national

government with representation from all political parties. However,

NA s leader,

James

Saleam

dismisses

the

possibility

of achieving

power

by

parliamentary means. Rather, he

writes of Australians

needing

to become

accustomed

to political turmoil, disorder

and even

social violence and of

the need

for

NAto

destroy public confidence in the

state-power

and to contribute to the

coming gross instability of Australian politics. The

main

theme ofNA s Political

Programme proposes that a

White

Australia be established, by restricting

immigration to persons of European racial descent, by

deporting

illegal immigrants

and repatriating those who can not

or

will not

assimilate

into

the

Australian

culture. Asianisation

is

described

in Saleam s

pamphlets as

the

major

enemy

of

the Australian People and

Nation ,

and

a

matter which is certain to be decided by

guns- through national war and possibly, civil

war.

7. Since late 1988, 15 NA members have been arrested in NSW on various

charges of which the following are the most significant:

Wayne Smith

was arrested

on charges arising from a symbolic

necklacing incident

at

the home

of

anti-apartheid activist,

the Reverend

Dorothea McMahon on 16 November 1988. He

was

also charged

in

relation to the violent disorder at a homosexual group meeting in

Sydney

on

10 April1989.

It is alleged that Smith

has

admitted involvement

in

both incidents.

Jason Frost and Michael White were

charged

with

the

shotgun attack

on

the

home of African National

Congress

representative, Eddie Funde

on 27 January 1989. t has been reported that when interviewed by

the

police on 14

June

1989, Frost implicated Smith

and

Saleam who

is

currently serving a

two-year

gaol sentence for

fraud.

On 13 October

1989,

Saleam was charged in connection with the attack.

Perry Whitehouse was charged in relation to the crossbow attack on

the home of a

Sydney

journalist.

8. In Western

Australia,

the activities ofthe

ANM

have

caused

concern to

the

Government and

the

ethnic communities. The group s ideology,

while

similar to

NA in

its racist and nationalist

content, is more overtly anti-Semitic. ANM s policy

is

to

repatriate

all

non-white

immigrants and it

aims

to

create

an

environment

of

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racial

tension

which

will

discourage Asian

immigration

and

investment,

particularly

in

Western Australia. To some extent the group has succeeded, as

several

major

newspapers

in Singapore,

Hong

Kong and

Malaysia

have given

prominent

coverage

to incidents

in

Western

Australia

with racial overtones. The

quantity and

content

of

ANM

posters

have

reportedly caused

concern to

ethnic

communities, particularly

Asians,

which believe the

activities of

ANM are likely to

lead to

acts of

violence against

them

by members

of

the group

or by

others

influenced

by

its literature.

9.

There

have

been

16

arrests

of

ANM

members since

May

1989,

of which

the following are the most significant:

ANM

leader

Peter

Joseph

(Jack)

Van

Tongeren

was

arrested

on

explosives offences.

John Van Blitterswyk and

Russell

Willey

were arrested on charges

arising from the theft of stereo equipment valued at

approximately

150,000.

Blitterswyk

also

was charged with firearm

offences.

The

WA

Police

suspects

that the

motive for

this

theft,

and

for

the others carried

out by

ANM members, was

to

raise funds

for the

operations of

the group.

On

Tuesday 15 August 1989 nine

ANM members

including

Van

Tongeren

were

arrested

and

face 323

charges

including

breaking and

entering, receiving stolen property

and

arson in connection with a

number

of

firebomb

attacks

on Chinese restaurants. WA Police is

considering

further

charges in

connection

with

alleged

ANM plans

to

plant

a

limpet

type

mine

on the

hull of

a visiting US warship

(presumably as a

reaction

to the

presence of black

seamen on the ship)

and to

raid

the

WA

Police

Academy

armoury.

William

Patrick

Mohagan and Wayne Robert Napier were arrested

on

5 September in connection with the death

of David Locke

four days

earlier. The

motive

for the attack is alleged to be

Locke s

intention to

appear for

the prosecution

against

ANM

members.

ASIO's information

led

to

the

arrests.

10.

It

is hard to

evaluate

the real intentions

of

the ANM leadership in regard

to the alleged attacks on

the

warship and the Police

armoury.

Such plans may

simply reflect bravado

on

the part

of

the ANM leadership, and the strength of the

Police s

case

is

yet to be

determined.

However,

if true, the plans introduce

a

new

element into racist

violence

in

Australia

and

would

show the ANM

to

have

a

real

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potential for terrorism. The group has access to explosives and some of its members

have

explosives

training.

11. In

addition

to the

threat presented by

such ANM activities there are

reports of retaliato ry

action

by

opposing

groups

/

individuals as

evidenced

by

the

firebombing

and shotgun attack on

the

home of Van Tongeren in February 1989.

In

response

to ANM

activity,

a Perth

martial

arts group

has launched

a

volunteer

service

to

protect

victims

of

racist threats and violence.

The extensive Perth media

coverage of the verbal conflict between

ANM

and opposing groups has

increased

the

potential

for

confrontation

and

further violent

incidents.

PROSPECT

12. The arrest and charging of

the

leadership

of

both N A and

ANM

is

expected

to

disrupt

their

activities at least in the short term.

Both

groups are

heavily dependent

on

the

strong

leadership

respectively of

Saleam

and

Van

Tongeren. While Saleam

has

maintained

control ofNA from gaol

there

has

been

a

noticeable

decrease in incidents

attributable

t

NA

members since the arrests.

Saleam s

current

one-year

sentence would be increased if he is convicted on

charges

resulting from

the

Funde shooting. Should Van Tongeren be imprisoned,

i t

is

expected ANM

activities

also would show a

short

term

decline.

13. However a number

of

factors must be considered when forecasting

the

future trend

of racist

violence from these groups. The leaderships

of

both remain

convinced that the continuing debate on Asian immigration and multiculturalism

provides an

ideal

opportunity

to

increase racial tension

in

the community and

to

promote

opposition to Government policy. Despite

the large

number

of arrests,

both

groups appear to be functioning, albeit

at

a reduced level. NAhas branches

in

other

States

which continue

to be active. The l e d ~ r

of

the

Adelaide Branch,

Michael

Brander, is prepared

to

lead NA nationally

during

Saleam s

absence a prospect

unlikely to be

popular with

all

NA members. Finally, the

continuing

potential

for

violence is

shown

by the murder

of

Locke.

14. To

enhance its assessment capability,

ASIO will

have

to

increase its

resource allocation directed

to

the

two groups.

This increased allocation

will

have

to

be significant for two reasons. The first is the obvious danger to human sources and

their

handlers as demonstrated

by the

murder

of

Locke. The second is that both

groups

have

become

more

covert

following

the

police action

against them and their

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plans and identifiable activities are likely to prove increasingly

difficult

to discover.

Complicating these

problems

is the fact

that

our sources will be operating in an

environment in

which there is an expectation of illegal

and

perhaps violent action.

f

he

level

of

violence persists the targeting

of

the two groups will pose a major

problem

for ASIO to

balance continued

penetration against the pressure

for

any

member t cause

or

participate

in

unlawful activities.

CONCLUSION

15. Over the last

year

there

has

been a change in the

nature

ofthe racist

incidents

attributed

to the ANM and NA. These have passed from acts largely of

harassment and vandalism to

attacks

in which

there

is some prospect

ofloss of

life.

The

reason

for

this

is

not clear

but

may

be

related

to a

change

in

the

debate

on

Asian

immigration and multiculturalism and t

concerns

over Japanese investment in

Australia. The

murder

of

the ANM member in Perth suggests that at least the

ANM

contains elements capable of

extreme

violence.

16.

There

is no immediate prospect

that

the recent

arrests

ofNA and

ANM

members will end

the

attacks by the groups although these may be reduced in

the

short

term.

Further

the

activities of the ANM

and

NA may prompt counter-action

by affected groups/individuals which could be expected to organise more united

and

militant responses. The potential for confrontation will

increase in

direct proportion

to

the

level

of mobilisation of

opposition

toN

A and ANM.

17. The prospect

of

further

racial violence from these groups will dictate the

need

for more ASIO

resources

to be allocated to

the

investigation of their activities.

This

will present

the Organization with a

serious

and

expensive

targeting problem

which will

necessitate

the reduction

or

removal

of

resources from other important

areas of investigation.

There is

little

prospect that its

operational

investment will

yield the

required penetration quickly. ASIO will continue to work closely

with

the

appropriate police forces.

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Cabinet

Submissign Memorandum

No

7 b

[9]

Documents

1988-89 cabinet paper 6766