An Australian senator warned the government on August 15 that the failure to condemn racially motivated violence in Charlottesville is indicative of a domestic and growing far-right movement.

Speaking towards the end of a Senate meeting on Tuesday night, Greens Senator Nick McKim said Australia is “sleepwalking” into the same direction as the US in regards to racially motivated violence from the right. He said Australia had already gutted parts of the Racial Discrimination Act and warned of the increasingly “radical elements” in the media.

In October last year, the head of Australia’s chief intelligence service said radical anti-Islamic groups were a growing threat to national security. Members from Reclaim Australia, who were being monitored by ASIO and were arrested by counter-terrorism police, endorsed One Nation. Credit: Australian Parliament House via Storyful