Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has maintained the stance of his Labor predecessor concerning a major white-pride event to be held in Brisbane this weekend.
The Hammered music festival is expected to draw white supremacists from Australia and overseas to a secret location in the city on Saturday.
Mr Bleijie said while he was “disgusted” by the event, banning it was out of the question in the interests of free speech.
“While the government does not condone neo-Nazi or extremist beliefs, it is not illegal to hold an event such as this,” Mr Bleijie told brisbanetimes.com.au.
“The Queensland government will not ban this festival, but any attendees who incite or commit violence or racism will be dealt with by the police.”
Mr Bleijie's stance echoes that of former Attorney-General Paul Lucas, who dismissed calls for the festival's banning and the punishment of its organisers ahead of the March election.
The lack of action has angered former independent member for Burnett Rob Messenger, who launched a Parliamentary e-Petition against the “Neo Nazi, race hatred-inspired gathering” in January.
Mr Messenger said he was frustrated the views of nearly 2000 petition signatories had been ignored, and allowing Hammered to proceed made Queensland a national “laughing stock”.
“The government, I believe, under current Queensland laws, has the ability to stop the rally,” he said.
“I believe that it breaches anti-discrimination (legislation) as it stands, but in the meantime, and at the very least, the (Attorney-General) should untie the hands of the Queensland police and allow them to investigate the concert promoters and their public advertising.”
The Hammered Festival is organised by a group called the Southern Cross Hammerskins, a local branch of an international association spawned from the American white power skinhead movement.
This is the first year the three-year-old festival will be held in Brisbane, and websites promoting the event say it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Southern Cross Hammerskins in Australia.
Other websites promoting the festival contain pro-Nazi media including YouTube video clips celebrating Adolf Hitler.
Comment was sought from the Southern Cross Hammerskins.