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Victoria's peak Jewish community group says the appearance of Hezbollah flags at a Melbourne rally calling for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon is "highly alarming".
Thousands of people rallied at cities and towns across Australia on Sunday as part of a national day of protest organised by pro-Palestinian groups around the country.
While the majority of protesters brought Lebanese and Palestinian flags to the demonstrations, some flags representing the militant group Hezbollah were also seen in Melbourne. The yellow flag shows an arm reaching up towards an assault rifle.
Hezbollah, along with Hamas, is considered a terrorist organisation by the governments of Australia, along with the US, UK and EU.
A small number of protesters also held photos of Hassan Nasrallah, reflecting the death of the longtime militia leader in an Israeli attack.
Politicians have denounced the presence of Hezbollah flags at the Melbourne rally. (ABC News: Ruth Brook)
Under Australian laws, the public display of prohibited terrorist organisation symbols is an offence in some circumstances, including if the display is likely to offend, humiliate or insult "a member of a group of persons distinguished by race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion or national or social origin".
The penalty under the legislation is 12 months of imprisonment.
Albanese urges focus on cohesion in wake of 'worrying signs'
On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the government condemned "any indication" of support for a terrorist organisation such as Hezbollah.
"It not only threatens national security, but fuels fear and division in our communities," she said.
"All of us — including every political leader — must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted the "worrying signs" over the weekend and said his government did not want to see "radical ideologies and conflict" in Australia.
"Our multiculturalism and social cohesion cannot be taken for granted, and it's important that we continue to stress that that is the case as we go forward as well," he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the use of the Hezbollah flag during the rallies must "surely" constitute an offence under Commonwealth laws prohibiting hate symbols, which have been in place since the start of the year.
He urged the government to act, a day after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he would consider refusing and cancelling visas for anyone who sought "to incite discord in Australia".
Mr Dutton said it was "completely unacceptable" if no action was taken against people who were glorifying terror groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
"They have no place in our country. We are the greatest country in the world and we shouldn't be afraid to defend and protect it," he said.
"If Tony Burke continues to talk a big game, that's one thing, but he needs to follow through with it."
Hezbollah a threat to Jewish communities 'around the world', community group says
Jewish Community Council of Victoria CEO Naomi Levin said it was "highly disturbing" to see the Hezbollah flag appear on Melbourne's streets.
"Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia and the reason they are is because they have perpetrated numerous … murders of Jewish people not just in Israel but around the world," Ms Levin said.
"The most deadly being an attack on a Jewish centre in Argentina that killed 85 people."
This year Argentina's top court accused Hezbollah operatives of carrying out the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires at the behest of Iran, a charge Iran has denied.
"We know that they [Hezbollah] are a threat to Jewish communities all around the world," Ms Levin said.
"To see them celebrated and their leader martyred — or celebrated as a martyr — on the streets of Melbourne is highly alarming for our community."
On Sunday, Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman said anyone waving Hezbollah flags was "a minority" and did not represent the majority of protesters.
The vast majority of thousands of protesters across Australia carried Palestinian and Lebanese flags. (ABC News: Freya Noble)
"I'm not surprised that people would come out with various flags, whether it be Hezbollah or other flags, but I think that's a distraction," Mr Salman said.
"I think the vast majority of the Muslim community in Victoria and around Australia are supporting Lebanese people."
Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni, who helped coordinate the protests, said only a "very small minority" of those present carried Hezbollah flags.
"What I continue to be uplifted by is the resilience of the movement for justice for Palestinians and now Lebanese," he told ABC Radio Melbourne on Monday.
Federal opposition urges AFP to press charges
Victoria Police referred the appearance of the terrorist group's flags at the protests to Australian Federal Police (AFP), as any offence would fall under Commonwealth laws.
In a statement, an AFP spokesperson said it was aware that protests and demonstrations could be used to amplify the messaging of extremist groups.
"The mere public display of a prohibited symbol on its own does not meet the threshold of a Commonwealth offence," they said.
"The Criminal Code set outs very specific elements that must be met in order to charge an individual with a terrorism offence.
"The AFP works jointly with state and territory police on matters involving the urging of violence against groups, members of groups or advocating terrorism."
Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson said any protesters identified holding the Hezbollah flag should be charged.
"If you want to turn up and rally in Melbourne and hold a Lebanese flag or a Palestinian flag, there will be no legal consequences for you and no concern about what you're doing," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"But if you turn up with a flag from a listed terrorist organisation, that's different."