‘Assault on democracy’: Brethren leaders called to answer for far-right election plot

Subpoenas will be used to force the world leader of the Exclusive Brethren and his son to answer questions in front of a parliamentary inquiry about the church’s covert, multimillion-dollar “influence campaign” favouring the Coalition at the last federal election, if they refuse to give evidence voluntarily.

The committee wants answers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church’s most powerful leaders over secret payments to far-right agitators to harass Anthony Albanese and other left-leaning MPs on the campaign trail.

Parliamentary committees have the power to compel witnesses to appear, and those who refuse or mislead parliament with false testimony can be found in contempt of parliament.

This week in parliament, a chorus of Labor MPs have called on the opposition to “come clean” about its entanglement with the wealthy sect’s secretive operation, after reporting from this masthead showed church elders were working behind the scenes with neo-Nazi associates to disrupt campaign events of the Coalition’s opponents.

The investigation revealed how Brethren elders tracked MPs in cars and fed “private intel” on their locations to agitators with a history of white supremacy association for more than a dozen scripted stunts on the campaign trail.

Leaked messages showed the “election influence” plot led all the way to the top of the church, with Gareth Hales among the senior elders who were members of the co-ordinating chats with far-right figures, and his company Sante Global, identified in the paper trail of payments and meetings. A senior Brethren figure behind the operation also confirmed to this masthead that it was organised by himself and other elders.

The idea behind the stunts – which was known to only a few in the Coalition and not authorised by the Liberals’ head office – was to make it seem as if the public was turning on left-leaning politicians over issues like immigration.

Thousands of rank-and-file Brethren members also turned out to campaign for the Liberals undercover at polling booths, and key far-right figures were paid tens of thousands of dollars to serve as middlemen in the church’s advertising campaign, endorsing Brethren posters and buying ad space.

Senior Liberals have dismissed concern about the revelations as a witch hunt and religious discrimination.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, committee chair Jerome Laxale also called on the Coalition to front up to the parliamentary inquiry.

“It’s time that the Liberal Party fess up about this group that they themselves describe as a support group [in their election review]. Defending democracy should be above politics,” he said.

The church has repeatedly denied any involvement in the secret stunts operation, which was first reported by this masthead last month. Questioned by the parliamentary committee, church spokesman Lloyd Grimshaw insisted the Brethren had nothing to do with the election at all.

Laxale told parliament on Monday he found Grimshaw’s evidence “shallow, inconsistent, and, at points, laughable”.

After Grimshaw’s testimony last month, a dissenting group of seven Coalition MPs issued a statement defending the Brethren and its campaign. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Liberal Party president Tony Abbott attended a charity bike ride sponsored by the church the day after news of the Brethren’s far-right plot broke.

Other MPs have expressed alarm at the aggressive, MAGA-style tactics of Brethren at polling booths.

The Labor MP for Chisholm, Carina Garland, told parliament on Tuesday the Brethren “swarming” on the campaign trail was a “a disgraceful assault on our democracy”.

“I was personally attacked by notorious characters almost daily,” Garland said. This included “vile abuse and intimidation” of volunteers, she said.

Teal independent Monique Ryan, who was also targeted by at least one paid stunt in the Brethren operation, called the dirty tricks campaign “chilling to democracy”.

Some Brethren members told this masthead they were horrified to see their church using neo-Nazi associates as guns-for-hire to disrupt an election.

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