Supporters of an anti-transgender activist have sparked outrage after they performed Nazi salutes at a protest in Melbourne on Saturday.
The salutes came during a protest between two competing groups as anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshulll continues her speaking tour of Australia before coming to New Zealand next week.
Keen-Minshulll, who goes by the moniker Posie Parker, is a British woman who founded the group Standing for Women.
She describes herself as a women's rights activist but is most well known for her anti-transgender views.
It's not believed Keen-Minshull had any link with the protest on Saturday but her controversial views are thought to have sparked the clashes, according to NCA NewsWire.
About 30 members of the far-right National Socialist Movement, dressed in black and some wearing balaclava-style face coverings, marched down Spring Street in support of Keen-Minshulll, according to NCA NewsWire.
Social media videos show the group marching down streets in Melbourne carrying a banner that read "destroy paedo freaks".
They also shouted slurs at transgender activists and performed the Nazi salute as they stood on the steps of Victoria's Parliament House.
They were opposed by an even larger group of people advocating for transgender issues, who were heard chanting "Posie Parker you can't hide, you've got Nazis on your side".
The far-right group sparked outrage on social media with people condemning the nazi-saluting protesters.
One person said "this is despicable", another person added, "this is seriously stuffed" while a third user wrote, "putrid behaviour".
Another person wrote: "Once upon a time, this sort of thing would be such a massive public disgrace that anybody who was hoping to be taken seriously could never even consider coming back from it. It's worrying that this won't make even a ripple now."
Victoria police tried to separate the two groups but there were clashes between the two sides.
It's estimated there were about 400 people there to support Keen-Minshull, but pro-transgender supporters outnumbered them at least two to one, the West Australian estimated.
Keen-Minshull's tour started in Sydney last Saturday and includes stops in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, and Canberra.
The contentious speaker was also met with protest action at other stops, although it's understood this is the first time her supporters have clashed with pro-trans groups on the tour, according to NCA NewsWire.
Keen-Minshull also plans to visit Auckland on Saturday and Wellington next Sunday but her expected arrival in New Zealand has caused debate.
The Green Party penned an open letter to Immigration Minister Michael Wood calling for the ban of entry for Keen-Minshull.
The Greens said she posed a "significant risk and threat to public order and the public interest" and have particular concerns for the safety of New Zealand's takatāpui, transgender and gender-diverse communities.
