Neo-Nazi website hack reveals far-right users in New Zealand as young as 15

The Race Relations Commissioner’s comments come after 1 NEWS revealed New Zealanders as young as 15 were involved in a now defunct neo-Nazi website.

Several New Zealanders were active users of a now-defunct neo-Nazi message board which had its data leaked last week - including one who says they were aged 15.

The views uncovered on the site have caused concern, but Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon also said he "can't say they are surprising". The New Zealand Jewish Council has described them as “revolting”.

Iron March was a far-right message board and "fascist social network" which was hacked and taken down by unknown individuals in November 2017.

Last week, the site's databases - which included user names, email addresses, private messages and IP addresses of members - was leaked online.

1 NEWS has analysed the data, and among those members are at least five whose IP addresses can be traced to New Zealand.

One user, who appeared to be located in Gisborne, wrote in one post that they were only 15 years old while also describing themselves as "an enthusiastic admirer of Adolf Hitler".

The Gisborne user wrote in another that they were studying economics, with the hope of going into politics in order to create "the ideal Fascist party" in New Zealand, "combining the elements of both 20th century fascism and modern Neo-Nazi groups".

Another user from Christchurch, a 26-year-old software student, described organising meet-ups with other fascists, criticised gun laws, used homophobic phrases and said New Zealand lacked “any real nat-soc ideas".

Recounting a recent meet-up, the user said they had discussed "pushing back at some point”.

"We had a good talk and our fabulous host said (in essence) that he was ready for the NS [National Socialism] revolt to begin," they wrote.

"The host of the meeting is working with his son to subvert the education system."

The student said they had also discussed ways of evading censorship and spreading their views using the internet, as well as through flyers and "propaganda".

They also described one young attendee: "He's 14 and he plays online games with his friends - even so, he is pretty feisty with his NS stuff," they wrote.

Another user of Iron March, a 25-year-old man from Wellington, said that despite being "raised in an apathetic, liberal and atheist household", he had adopted fascist views through reading nationalist literature and watching lectures from people like Stefan Molyneux.

Mr Molyneux's New Zealand speaking tour with Lauren Southern was cancelled in July last year amid security concerns after public backlash against the pair.

JEWISH COUNCIL CALLS RAMPANT ANTI-SEMITISM 'ABHORRENT’

Another user, from Auckland, described themselves as "a firm believer in Italian Fascism", and displayed extreme anti-Semitism in their posts, writing that "Israel's control of Jerusalem is one of humanity's greatest tragedies”.

"We can't just nuke Israel because then we lose God's City, instead we need to take it back with gunpowder and steel."

Juliet Moses, spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council, said the comments were abhorrent and revolting.

Lawyer and Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses

"We've known there are bigots, racists, and extremists in NZ for a long time; Jews are targets for hatred in a variety of forms, a well-recognised one of which is neo-Nazism/white supremacy," Ms Moses said.

"There are many dark corners of the internet where hate festers and it's good that this has been exposed so it can be countered.

"The young ages of some of the participants is particularly concerning.”

She said that while New Zealand is not immune to worldwide trends in anti-Semitism and white supremacy, “our relatively small, isolated and well-integrated population, where the importance of diversity, tolerance and Western liberal values are broadly embraced, hopefully means we are better placed to combat those trends than other countries”.

The Race Relations Commissioner’s comments come after 1 NEWS revealed New Zealanders as young as 15 were involved in a now defunct neo-Nazi website.

Mr Foon agreed there is "a small minority of New Zealanders who do hold these racist and anti-Semitic views, online and offline".

"It’s sad to me that these young people hold such narrow and hateful views at a formative time in their lives," Mr Foon told 1 NEWS. "It’s also disappointing that they appear to think that celebrating their personal identity and purpose, means excluding other New Zealanders on the basis of their race or religion."

Part of the solution, he suggested, lies within New Zealand's education system - "when children and young people are learning what it means to belong to a community".

"It’s also why I’m calling for the Government to fund bullying prevention programmes that also focus on inclusion and empathy," Mr Foon added. "This will help to prevent some young people who feel left out and then end up blaming ethnic and minority groups for their troubles

"Outside of the classroom and across society we need to be having discussions about what needs to change so all New Zealanders can feel like they belong and are respected.

"The tech sector and other private businesses also need to be thinking about their obligations to support an inclusive, safe and respectful environment for everyone."

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