- National Socialist Network held demonstration on Sunday
- South Australia Police said ‘number of arrests’ were made
- READ MORE: Australia Day 2025 live blog
Several people have been arrested after a group of alleged neo-Nazis disrupted a ‘Survival Day’ rally in Adelaide.
It’s understood a Survival Day march due to end at the South Australian capital’s Victoria Square was delayed due to the presence of the counter-protesters.
Members of the National Socialist Network, one of Australia’s largest neo-Nazi groups, were seen dressed in black and waving the Australian flag.
A police spokesperson told the Adelaide Advertiser that ‘a number of arrests have been made’.
When the publication asked if those arrested were neo-Nazis, police said they were ‘unrelated’ to the Survival Day march.
‘The individuals are in the process of being charged and more details will be provided when known,’ the spokesperson said.
South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens had previously warned there would be no tolerance for far-right behaviour.
‘We’ll be taking a very strong position in relation that,’ he said.
Members of the National Socialist Network were spotted in Adelaide on Sunday
The Australian flag was waved by several members of the group while one was seen beating a drum
‘There are special powers that permit us to take action for anyone who displays, publishes or brandishes a Nazi symbol or displays the Nazi salute and we will take action should we identify any behaviour of that type.’
Around 70 far-right protestors were also spotted in Melbourne with a group gathering at Olympic Park Oval – opposite the Australian Open.
The Australian flag, the Red Ensign flag and Eureka flag were spotted among the demonstrators.
The demonstration in Adelaide came after a peaceful start to the morning when locals visited Tarntanya Wama (Elder Park) for a smoking ceremony.
The annual Mourning in Morning attracted a crowd of 3,000 people.
Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Kirstie Parker was the master of the ceremony.
‘This morning’s event has been categorised in a lot of ways, but the one that sits with me is unity and reflection,’ she said.
‘It’s also an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, First Nations people to say simply, staunchly and unapologetically and proudly that we are still here and we always will be.’
A member of the National Socialist Network is pinned down by police at a park on North Terrace
A man is accompanied by police following the demonstration on Sunday
Anti-Australia Day protesters were heard chanting ‘F*** the police’ at an Invasion Day rally in Melbourne, as similar rallies took place in cities and towns across the country.
Mounted police in Melbourne were on standby amid the chants as the crowd number passed 20,000 and parts of the city were brought to a standstill, with shops shut or having police protection outside them.
The police even had to block off the Flinders Street train station area in the CBD.
In previous years, Invasion Day rallies – organised to protest against Australia Day – in Sydney often attracted around 15,000 marchers.
But this year, the NSW Police estimate the number fell by almost 50 per cent to around 8,000.
In Brisbane, the numbers were also way down, with the Courier-Mail reporting the protest barely went beyond the Queens Gardens – a far cry from the tens of thousands of protesters it previously attracted.
