“I call on our state and federal governments to lead the fight against the growing problem of racially based extremism by candidly characterising it and advocating that these groups be added to the terror list.”

However,extremist expert Lydia Khalil,of the Lowy Institute,cautioned that,while the proscription debate was important,it faced several legal and political hurdles and should not be viewed as a catch-all solution.

She said early prevention was critical and that government agencies — having “belatedly” expanded their focus from programs targeting would-be jihadists to right-wing extremists — must concentrate on tailoring interventions to far-right groups.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday that there was no place for bigotry and hatred in the state.

“I won’t comment on individual circumstances because they may well be the subject of Victoria Police work. But I will just say there is no place for that kind of anti-Semitism in our state,there is no place for that sort of bigotry and hatred. There is no place for violence,” he said.

“I would make the point as well,that many would argue,and the international evidence is very clear,and indeed the local evidence,that anti-Semitism is on the rise.

“It’s an evil thing,it’s a wicked thing,and I just take this opportunity to send a message to the Jewish community across Melbourne and Victoria,you have and continue to make a profound contribution to our state.

“It’s hard to imagine so many things we cherish and value,they just wouldn’t be in the position they are in,they would not have emerged,they wouldn’t be as strong as they are without the contribution the Jewish community has made and no community should be treated that way.

“I know it affects the Jewish community deeply and it offends all of us and there is just no place for that.”

Mr Sewell has previously sought to distance his group from those who espouse violent action and there is no suggestion that the group’s members engaged in any violent acts.

Victoria Police has been contacted for comment about the Grampians visit by the far-right group.

When Halls Gap resident James passed the group on his mountain bike on Sunday afternoon in town,he was addressed with a Sieg Heil.

“There were 40 white males,many with skinheads,some chanting ‘white power’. That is intimidating for anyone,let alone the young Asian families sharing the barbecue space,” he said.

James,who declined to use his full name for fear of repercussions,was one of several residents who called the local police only to be promptly called back by detectives working with Victoria Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command intelligence-gathering division. The division is monitoring right-wing extremist groups in Australia,alongside intelligence agency ASIO,which was also notified about the gathering.

“There were 40 white males,many with skinheads,some chanting ‘white power’. That is intimidating for anyone.”

Halls Gap resident James

The detective asked James to take photos,which he did using his helmet camera. It sparked a confrontation with two “big,burly guys”.

“It was pretty terrifying at that point. I told them I was a tourist and wasn’t filming them,” he said.

According to extremist experts,two right-wing groups,the Lads Society and Antipodean Resistance,recently helped form a new Australian extremist outfit,the National Socialist Network,which in turn helped organise the 38 young,white men to assemble in the Grampians over the Australia Day weekend. Photos show some wearing army-issued boots and packs.

The Age and theHerald have identified some of the key organisers and participants of the Grampians gathering. Some show the faces of young men who would prefer to stay in the shadows — posing in their own online posts with faces covered.

The organisers include the Lads leader,Mr Sewell,raised in the middle-class suburb of Balwyn in Melbourne. The Lads have also been accused of afailed attempt to branch-stack the NSW Young Nationals in 2018.

Mr Sewell has claimed in a social media post that the Grampians event was aimed at providing “content” for a new neo-Nazi group,the European Australian Movement.

He has the hallmarks of some far-right activists in the US,including those who stormed the Capitol in Washington three weeks ago,a move that Mr Sewell said in one online message had lessons for Australian extremists.

His posts indicate that he is a racist conspiracy theorist appealing to marginalised,underemployed young Australians on the fringes of society.

The 2019 terrorist attack by an Australian on a mosque in New Zealand that left 51 dead served as an ideological rallying point for some far-right groups,and a reminder of the potential consequences of underplaying the potential threat.

ASIO has revealed thatup to 40 per cent of its prioty caseload involve right-wing extremist groups.

ASIO’s deputy director-general,Heather Cook,told a parliamentary committee last year the COVID-19 pandemic was fuelling a surge in radicalisation because “of the amount of time individuals are spending in isolation,working from home or not in school”.

The Canadian Parliament is now debating a move to declare the far-right group,the Proud Boys,a terrorism entity.

In Melbourne last November,a lone-wolf extremist on the fringe of local far-right groups,Philip Galea,was jailed for 12 years for planning a terrorist attack on Trades Hall,the Socialist Alliance’s Melbourne headquarters and the Melbourne Anarchist Club.

With Simone Fox Koob

Know more about the Grampians trip participants,the National Socialist Network or any other far-right groups? Contact (anonymously if preferred)nickmckenzie@protonmail.com