Zoe Moffatt
A recent spate of neo-Nazi stickers and graffiti placed on council buildings across Sunbury has been referred to police.
A member of the public questioned Hume council about the stickers during the March 27 council meeting, asking what action council was taking.
The resident said the neo-Nazi graffiti and stickers were “targeting LGBT youth groups by being placed on council buildings“.
Speaking at the council meeting, city services and living director Hector Gaston said council had referred the matter to police.
He said the stickers and graffiti had been placed on council buildings, including the Sunbury Youth Centre.
“Council actively removes any such graffiti or stickers from council facilities when and if it occurs,” Mr Gaston said.
A council spokesperson said council became aware of stickers on the Sunbury Youth Centre on January 22.
Sunbury Police confirmed no arrests had been made and that the investigation was ongoing.
The issue was addressed by Jackson’s Creek Ward councillor Jarrod Bell in a TikTok on January 24.
Cr Bell said the video was a call out to the people who thought it was appropriate to put the stickers on buildings in Sunbury.
“These messages are simply not acceptable in modern Australia, and they’re not acceptable in Sunbury,” Cr Bell said.
“This sick… and unacceptable bigotry and racism and hate is something that I do not accept and I know… the majority of our community do not accept.”
Cr Bell said there were more stickers on the Centerlink building up the road and he would rip them all down.
“If you think this, you do not represent modern Sunbury, modern Hume, modern Victoria, or modern Australia, you are irrelevant,“ he said.
Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said putting the stickers on a council building was a “hate crime“.
“The voices of evil are out in force, and we should be deeply concerned that white supremacist groups with an agenda of violence and murder, are actively operating in Sunbury,“ he said.
“These are not just stickers — it is a frontal assault on our values, and when this type of cruel vandalism comes into full view, it reminds us that there are hardcore bigots in our midst.”
