‘They watch a video or join a forum, then go and commit an act of terror’

ANNE ALY: Today’s extremists are often individuals who are triggered by propaganda. The government needs to outlaw pamphlets and live-streaming content that sets them off

IN 1912, THE Reverend George Brown, a prominent missionary, captivated a Melbourne audience with an address titled The Moslem Menace. Brown urged his listeners to heed his warnings about Australia falling under Islamic control.

For this menace to be fully understood, Brown said, Melbourne should experience Islamic domination for 24 hours to “realise the danger of wife or sisters going in the streets unattended or unguarded”.

An attack on Muslims was unusual for the time. With an Asian invasion dominating Australian concerns about unwanted “others”, the “Moslem menace” was hard to present as a risk to Australia.

When seen against this backdrop and a history marked by the White Australia policy, xenophobia, discrimination and racism, the rise of far-right extremism in this country should not be surprising.

The ideological impetus for its current resurgence owes much to an American, David Lane, who has been described as the Renaissance man of late 20th-century white nationalism.

He is best known among far-right adherents for coining the “14 words” that are the creed for contemporary white nationalists and neo-Nazis: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Those words continue to inspire adherents of far-right ideology and are one half of the popular hate symbol 14-88 (88 stands for “Heil Hitler”).

Lane died in 2007 in a US prison where he was serving a 190-year sentence for racketeering, conspiracy and for his role in the murder of radio talk-show host Alan Berg, who was killed in his driveway by members of a group variously known as Brüders Schweigen (Silent Brotherhood) and The Order.