Tagged with South East Community Action

Neo-Nazi group ‘The Lads Society’ @ 34 Thomas Street, Ashfield, Sydney : Help shut it down!

Neo-Nazi grouplet ‘The Lads Society’ — which arose from the ashes of the ‘United Patriots Front’ (UPF) and its stillborn political party ‘Fortitude’ (2015–2017) — currently operate two social centres, one in the south-east suburb of Cheltenham in Melbourne and the other in Ashfield in inner-west Sydney.

The centre in Cheltenham (Unit 9/158 Chesterville Road), which opened in October 2017, is scheduled to close in January 2019.

No reason has been given for the closure of the bunker in Cheltenham, but it’s worth noting that the estate agents listed the property as being available on November 7, just a few short weeks after an ABC exposé (in which Lads members starred) on neo-Nazi infiltration into the NSW branch of the Young Nationals.

The centre in Ashfield also featured in the exposé.

Spearheaded by the former fuehrer of short-lived neo-Nazi grouplet ‘Squadron 88’, Mark McDonald, The Lads Society centre in Ashfield is located at No.34 Thomas Street, and leased by way of the Colemon Property Group.

You may remember Squadron 88 from such exciting escapades as when they stuffed letterboxes in Bondi with anti-Semitic tracts in August 2014. And again in September 2014. Or, when they briefly adopted geriatric neo-Nazi Ross ‘The Skull’ May as the group’s mascot.


Above (L to R) : John Bolton (Cottrell’s lawyer/ex-Australian Liberty Alliance), Blair Cottrell (UPF/Lads), Mark McDonald (Squadron 88/Lads), Oscar Tuckfield (Young Nationals/Lads).

In response to the establishment of The Lads in Cheltenham, a local group formed, ‘South East Community Action’, to campaign to close the neo-Nazi organising space.

Now, in response to the establishment of The Lads Society in Ashfield, another campaigning group has formed: ‘Ashfield Community Action’ (Facebook /// Twitter). To keep abreast of its progress, please like/share/follow their social media.

Finally:

• Ashfield was the site of a previous neo-Nazi infestation in the 1960s.

• The Lads have been making noises about setting up shop in both Adelaide and Brisbane. Something of the flavour of the group’s membership was given when two were chucked out of a bar in Brisbane for throwing up Nazi salutes.

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antifa notes (june 20, 2018) : True Blue Crew 2018 Flagwit Parade +++

The racist methgoblins of the ‘True Blue Crew’ (TBC) are holding another flagwit parade in the Melbourne CBD this Sunday. There they’ll be joined by a range of other right-wing cranks, including ‘Soldiers of Odin’, neo-Nazi ‘Lads’, ‘Timmeh!’ and The Unhinged, and even Neil Erikson and ‘Cooks Convicts’.

The participation of the ‘Convicts’ in the ultra-nationalist rally and march is genuinely amusing given the fact that Erikson has spent the last year or two deriding the TBC as drug-addled bogan scum. And while TBC lvl boss Kane Miller was (for some unknown reason) in court again today, he’ll presumably be allowed out to wipe the shit off his face and to accompany Erikson as they and a few hundred racist dogs join Victoria Police for a brief wander around the city before drinks.

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In any event, the Campaign Against Racism & Fascism will be joining with other groups to ‘Unite to Stop The Far Right’ and to ‘Stop the Fascist March’:

An assortment of far-right groups are gathering for a “flag march” this coming Sunday.

We encourage anyone outraged by the idea of fascists marching through the streets of Narrm to join the counter demonstration.

Antifascists are assembling from all over the city. If you’re not already participating in a group with a plan for this coming Sunday, we’d encourage you to join the demonstration gathering at College of Surgeons Gardens at 11am.

Note that, if last year’s event is anything to go by, the flag-waving wankers, reinforced by several hundred police, should have little difficulty in marching from Exhibition Gardens in Carlton to Parliament and back again before dispersing. Further, a few weeks ago the TBC conducted a survey of its Facebook fans. Of the 230+ users who responded, approximately 3/4 were (overwhelmingly Anglo- and mostly middle-aged) men, with half located in Victoria, and about 1/3 in NSW or QLD. Finally, while he was an enthusiastic participant in 2016’s rally and march and gave Big Ups to the TBC, unfortunately Phillip Galea remains in custody awaiting trial for terrorisms, so won’t be joining Kane and Neil on the streets on Sunday.

anti-fascists : north, south, east & west

Several new anti-fascist projects have emerged in the last few months:

Fingers xed they’ll develop a presence on the streets and online; in the meantime, you’ll find them on Facebook : Northern Suburbs Antifascists /// South East Community Action/South East Anti-Racists /// Outer-Eastern Anti-Fascists /// Westside Pest Control. See also : Jews against fascism /// Melbourne Antifascist Info.

Finally, the leftist trans-Tasman publication Fightback has published a special issue dedicated to the subjects of fascism and anti-fascism. It includes an interview with yours truly about ‘Fascism in Australia’, which you can read here.