An Australian couple has sparked outrage from their state premier by flying a Nazi flag over their home.
The red and black flag has been flying for several weeks in the Victoria town of Beulah, and its presence prompted premier Daniel Andrews to publicly slam the couple.
"The people who are displaying that despicable flag, this is disgusting - it is absolutely disgusting behaviour," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"If there's any decency in that household, they will take that flag down immediately."
According to The Age, several neighbours complained to police and raised the issue with the local council.
Beulah police Senior Constable Shayne Riggall said they're investigating the matter and awaiting legal advice to see if any offences have been committed.
The local Yarriambiack Shire Council also had the matter brought to their attention, but CEO Jessie Holmes said it isn't within the council's power to ask the homeowners to remove the flag.
"What the flag represents is not in line with the values of council … however, we don't have a particular level or provision that enables us to act on that," she told The Age.
The homeowner flying the flag, Cheryl Lawdorn, defended her right to display it because of her German ancestry.
Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich - who is campaigning across Australia to ban the sale and public displays of Nazi materials and symbols - likened the flag to "plunging a dagger in the heart" of Holocaust survivors.
"We should be alarmed about anyone who so openly identifies with the unspeakable crimes of the Third Reich. This goes beyond owners' rights, and we all have a responsibility to speak up when such hateful acts take place."
The Victorian government is due to review its anti-vilification laws later this year after Reason Party MP Fiona Patten pushed to widen the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act to protect minority groups from targeted hate speech.
It is expected the state's legal and social issues committee will look at the public display of paraphernalia such as swastikas.