Police have seized art posters from a Canberra music venue and bar that depict world leaders and others, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk, wearing Nazi uniforms, and are investigating whether new federal hate symbol laws were broken.

David Howe, the owner of Dissent Cafe and Bar in Canberra’s CBD, said his venue was shut down for about two hours on Wednesday night as police investigated a complaint about hate imagery relating to five posters in the window.

“I think it’s ludicrous to be perfectly honest,” he told Guardian Australia, describing the works as an “anti-fascist statement” and noting the shut down had caused the cancellation of an interstate band’s performance.

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[–] galoisghost@aussie.zone 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If Netanyahu wasn’t one of the figures in one of these posters this raid never would have happened. The problem here is that the laws are being (deliberately) interpreted as pro-Zionist

If some establishment had a picture of Sarah Hanson-Young dressed as a Nazi literally no-one would care except the right wing mouth breathers who would find that kind of thing amusing.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago

The problem here is that the laws are being (deliberately) interpreted as pro-Zionist

Because they were explicitly drafted as pro-Zionist.