An affable, white-haired 61-year-old who sports a black beret and a tiny swastika on the lapel of his military-style black jacket, he is thoroughly delighted by the opportunity to expound his views on the perils facing the Aryan race as a result of cross-breeding.A lifelong admirer of Adolf Hitler, Mr Palmer has many hats. "I'm F?r of the Australian National Socialist Defence of Aryan People Movement," he says. "I'm Imperial Wizard of the Invisible Australian Empire of the Knights of the Ku-Klux-Klan. I'm also a qualified chef de cuisine." Phew.In addition, he is vice-president of the Australian branch of the London-based British Israel World Federation, a virulently anti-Semitic group in whose bookshop we meet in central Sydney. There is a photograph of the Queen on the wall and an Australian flag hanging from the ceiling. The BIWF shares members and ideals with like-minded organisations such as the Klan and Christian Identity.
Identity, which has been linked with racial violence in the US, has set up branches in Australia, including one near Casino.Mr Palmer calls himself "a racist first, but a humanist second", and he advocates that a piece of land be set aside for Aborigines: a sort of desert ghetto His sidekick, George Gori, is less magnanimous. Mr Gori, "Exalted Cyclops" of a klavern in western Sydney, describes Mr Palmer as a "candyfloss f?r" and says he wants a "definitive solution" to the Jewish Question.There is an awkward silence when I mention that I am Jewish. "Well, that just proves that Jews control the mass media," declares Mr Gori, a strident 29-year-old with an anorak and greasy hair Mr Palmer shuffles his feet and looks embarrassed "I mean, you can't blame the Jews for everything," he says. "But all we hear about all the time is the Ollycost, the Ollycost. Every night there's another Ollycost film on TV."It is tempting to dismiss the duo as buffoons and their supporters as crackpots. Certainly, the KKK and other extremist groups operate on the outer periphery of Australian society, with no more than a few thousand members between them.
(Mr Palmer declines to discuss figures; "Look, it's an invisible empire," he insists.) But on the other hand, they are capable of making life decidedly unpleasant in the areas where they are active.In Dubbo in New South Wales, a Jewish family engaged in human rights campaigns received a death threat earlier this year; a few days later, their house was broken into and KKK sprayed over the walls and furniture.In Casino, which has a sizeable black population and a history of political conservatism, Aboriginal elders recently met senior police officers to express concern about a rise in racist attacks. Last month, a racial insult hurled at some Aborigines triggered a street battle involving 100 people; soon afterwards, a magistrate warned that race riots were brewing on Chequerboard Hill.Casino, which proudly markets itself as "one of the friendliest towns in the state", does not appear to be living up to its reputation.A Casino post-office box is one of six Australian contact addresses given by the Imperial Klans of America. In Queen Elizabeth Park, a large KKK symbol a circle surrounding a cross has been carved into the grass On a sunny afternoon it is an eerie sight. It was at this spot, near a fig tree, that local teenagers say they witnessed a Klan ceremony last month. (When police arrived, the place was deserted, but a rubbish bin in which the fire was reportedly lit was still hot.)One of the boys, 15-year-old Josh Southern, dived into long grass by the nearby Richmond River to hide "I was petrified," he says His friend, Kade Minns, also 15, says: "It spun me out.
