The displaying of Nazi symbols at a collectors meeting in Bendigo has been defended by the organisers of the event.
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Nearly 1000 people went through the 38th annual Golden City Collectors Association event on August 26 and 27 where at least one stall openly displayed flags, posters and items featuring the swastika and SS insignia.
Under Victorian state law the public displaying of the hate symbol is barred, unless the swastika is covered up and used in a "genuine" educational or artistic setting.
Several items featuring the swastika at the show were not covered. At last one flag had a swastika covered with a white square.
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The organisers of the militaria and collectables event defended displaying Nazi material as it was in an educational and historical setting, which remains legal under Victorian state law.
They said they condemned the use of Nazi symbols by far-right extremists, but that events like this did not glorify the regime of the Third Reich.
"Within the (state) law it is stated that 'there are exemptions for showing the symbol in historical, educational, and artistic contexts'," organisers said.
"The law states 'the offence provides that a person commits a criminal offence if they intentionally display a symbol of Nazi ideology in a public place'.
"This indicates that a person could unintentionally come in contact with such a display but we believe it is different when people knowingly pay to enter a Militaria & Collectables Event where such a symbol could be included in a display in a historic context."
In June last year Victoria became the first state in Australia to ban the public display of Nazi symbols in an attempt to curb anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The Summary Offences Amendment, specifically the Nazi Symbol Prohibition Bill, which was passed in 2022, banned the swastika from public display with any violation of the law punishable with 12 months imprisonment or up to $22,000 in fines.
A Victorian government spokesperson said while the trading of items branded with the insignia was still legal, the introduced laws are attempting to stamp down on its uses by hate groups.
"Victorians have zero tolerance for the glorification of hateful ideology," they said.
"Our laws banning the Nazi symbol strike a balance between challenging the hateful use of the symbol and allowing an exception for legitimate historical uses.
"While the trade or sale of historical memorabilia with the Nazi symbol isn't banned, traders must cover the symbol on items that are publicly displayed."
The spokesperson said anyone who is confronted by the hate symbols should contact police.
Organisers of the collectors exhibition said they could not change history.
"Collectors believe that we cannot change history, cannot erase history, that atrocities of war exist," they said.
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"The question could be asked 'How can people learn by the mistakes made throughout history, if it is not available for public scrutiny?'.
"The Golden City Collectors Assoc. Inc. agree that there is no place in our society for neo-Nazis, far-right extremists, and the white supremacists who use these symbols."
There is proposed federal legislation which will ban the public displaying of the insignia and the sale of any items branded with the swastika or other Nazi symbols.
The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill would bar people from selling goods for profit which contain Nazi symbols.
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