The temptation is to ridicule them. Dismiss them as neo-numpties rather than neo-Nazis, a label that affords them some of the menace they so crave.

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Numpties, they surely are, in their black bucket hats, raincoats and dark glasses, lining up outside the NSW Parliament like toy soldiers with bad haircuts, mouthing Hitler Youth chants in front of a clearly anti-Semitic banner.

That stunt - entirely legal and embarrassing for the NSW government, which only learned of it after the event - won the numpties something else they desperately hanker for: attention. And that makes writing this difficult.

"Modern neo-Nazis crave attention and publicity. It gives them credibility and helps with recruitment," ASIO boss Mike Burgess told the Lowy Institute a couple of weeks ago.

"They see journalists as 'useful idiots' in this regard, and they celebrate even the most critical coverage because it inevitably leads to a surge in membership applications."

Burgess also warned of the danger of their hateful rhetoric prompting spontaneous violence.

So it seems you're damned if you ignore the numpties and damned if you don't.

Intending to register as a political party, the neo numpties are hoping to emulate Hitler's career trajectory, despite a leadership that has all the charisma and oratorical skill of a doorstop.

You can't legislate against stupidity nor can you, in this country at least, ban political parties, no matter how odious their platforms. Robert Menzies tried it in 1951 when he held a referendum that would have given the federal government the power to ban the Community Party of Australia. He was roundly defeated.

Our constitution implies freedom of political communication but a raft of hate speech and anti-vilification laws means it's not open-slather. And the screws have been tightened. The neo-numpties cannot legally display swastikas or perform the stiff-arm salute. In NSW, there's a push to ban face coverings at protests. That would flush out the more........

© Canberra Times