in brief
- Home affairs minister said the group has been spreading hate "for a long time".
- The Islamist group has also been banned in many other countries.
The Australian government has banned the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, making it a criminal offence to be a member or financial supporter of the group.
Its listing as a hate group is the first to come under landmark hate speech reforms, which Labor introduced following the Bondi terror attack.
The laws allow the government to forcibly shut down extremist organisations, and aim to curb the influence of antisemitic hate preachers and neo-Nazis.
The government had previously flagged the laws could be used to criminalise hardline extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazi organisation, National Socialist Network.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has also been banned in other countries, including Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom.
The hate group listing took effect on Thursday under the new framework, and the maximum penalty for association with the group is 15 years in prison.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Friday it is designed to stop groups "from spreading hate and sowing the seeds of division in the community, that risks not only our social cohesion but the safety of Australians".
"For a long time, Hizb ut-Tahrir has been able to spread hate and create a pathway for others to engage in violence," he said.
Speaking to ABC Radio later on Friday morning, Burke clarified the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) recommended the ban, and it was then his decision to approve it.
"If the answer to that is yes, and there's a view that banning them would provide general protection for the rest of the country, then the banning can happen and that takes effect today."
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