THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: FASCIST and nationalist extremist groups are active in and pose a threat to Australia, with the country's security agency saying there are legitimate concerns they may spawn a terrorist in the style of Norway's Anders Breivik.
The assessment, in the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's annual report to Parliament, also reveals Australia's right-wing extremists, much like the Islamic fundamentalists they loathe, draw inspiration from overseas via the internet.
''There has been a persistent but small subculture of racist and nationalist extremists in Australia, forming groups, fragmenting, re-forming and often fighting amongst themselves,'' the report states.
The appraisal also states there has been a recent rise in anarchist or ''anti-fascist'' groups, with the ideologically-opposed groups coming into conflict.
''Where such confrontations have occurred, the 'anti-fascists' have outnumbered the nationalist and racist extremists and police intervention has been required,'' the report states in its ''Australia's Security Environment'' section.
The report reveals ASIO - whose budget has grown by almost 500 per cent since 2001 and will next year move into a half-billion-dollar Canberra headquarters - has never been busier, with the number of terrorist investigations rising from about 100 in 2005 to almost 300 this year.
But it is the far-right threat that may surprise the public. » | Dylan Welch | Wednesday, October 12, 2011
