Australia First Party
Encyclopedia
The Australia First Party (AFP) is a minor far-right political party in Australia
that is federally registered and is also registered to contest local elections in New South Wales. The Party is led by Jim Saleam
. Saleam is the Chairman of the Party in New South Wales but plays a major role in the Party on a national scale. The Party's policies are said to be based on old-fashioned Labor Party values that were allegedly abandoned by the Australian Labor Party in the early 1970s. The policies of Australia First can be described as nationalistic
, anti-multicultural and economic protectionist.
member of the Australian House of Representatives
for the seat of Kalgoorlie
, Western Australia
, from 1980 until he was expelled from the party in November 1995. Campbell had become increasingly critical of the policies of the Labor government of Paul Keating
, particularly in matters relating to economic deregulation
, Aboriginal land rights, and multiculturalism
.
Campbell hoped to see the AFP became a serious political party, drawing on a current of populist opinion which rejected the policies of both the Labor Party and the opposition Liberal Party
. The AFP however was overshadowed by the appearance in 1997 of One Nation, a rival populist party led by an independent MP, Pauline Hanson
.
Following Campbell's resignation in June 2001, Diane Teasdale became the national president of the Australia First Party, but at the national level the party had not been very active 2001–2004 (it did not contest the 2001 election).
In 2002, a new AFP branch was formed in Sydney
. The Secretary of the Sydney Branch was Jim Saleam
, a stalwart of the Australian far right who was convicted of organising a shotgun
attack on the home of a local representative of the African National Congress
in the late 1980s. Saleam has maintained his innocence of the charge, claiming he was framed by politicised police, and his legal defence has been published on the internet.
In 2002, the party helped to form the Patriotic Youth League
to give young Australians a voice in the nationalist side of politics. The PYL was formed by Stuart McBeth who was a university student at the time. The League was described by anti-racist
groups as being "far right" and as being "racist".
The wording of the Party's NSW/Federal website, such as "the politics of New World Order
liberal-globalist-capitalism", also suggests that the Party has been revived by people of a more nationalistic economic protectionist viewpoint than was the case under Campbell's leadership. Saleam has written many articles about what he sees as the failings of the neo-conservative international policies of the state and federal governments in Australia since December 1972. In keeping with its traditional Labor values, Australia First has been opposed to privatisation and worker exploitation. Saleam has been widely critical of the deregulation of the financial market and of the abolishment of protectionist measures by successful federal governments since 1972 and especially since the election of Hawke-Keating Labor government in 1983.
In April 2007 Darrin Hodges, chairman of the Sutherland Shire
branch, was expelled from Australia First. Hodges went on to co-found the Australian Protectionist Party. Whitelaw Towers, which is linked to the leadership of Australia First, has denounced Hodges and his friends as being "Christian Zionists" and being in league with the Zionist Occupational Government. The Whitelaw Towers website has also claimed that Darrin Hodges is a "kosher nationalist".
In August 2007 Saleam (and several other prominent organisers) were expelled from Australia First by the old party leadership led by Teasdale. Saleam then took control of the NSW membership and incorporated "Australia First Party (NSW)". The Saleam faction also took control of most other party branches like the ones in Toowoomba and Newcastle. The old party leadership refused to recognise the decisions made by the Saleam faction and denounced the faction's moves as being illegal and threatened legal action against Saleam. The old party leadership maintained control over some Party branches thus splitting the party into two separate groups. One was controlled by Saleam and the other by Teasdale. In 2010 all the assets of the old Party were transferred to the new AFP under the leadership of Saleam.
In July 2009, the party announced they had reached their target of 500 members and were registering the party with the federal electoral commission. The party was successfully registered with the Australian Electoral Commission just a month before the August 2010 general election. The party was formally registered in June 2010.
In March 2010, it was announced on the New South Wales website of the Australia First Party that the Eureka Youth League had been formed. In the statement, the Party claimed that it was an "initiative of a few young nationalists" who were members of the AFP.
In June 2001, Campbell left the AFP in order to stand (unsuccessfully) as a One Nation senate candidate in Western Australia.
The AFP did not contest the 2001 election.
The AFP website says that the party fielded candidates in the 2004 local council elections in Sydney
, Newcastle
and Coffs Harbour
. But the real extent of the AFP's organisation and membership is not known.
In November 2005, AFP president Diane Teasdale stood in the elections for the Shepparton Council Office and received 1373 first preference votes, representing 4.37% of valid votes cast.
In November 2006, Adelaide
AFP representative Bruce Preece was elected as Councillor for the St John's Wood Ward of the City of Prospect
. Preece is the first AFP representative since Campbell to be elected into any level of Government.
AFP representative John Moffat contested the Electoral district of Cronulla
in Sydney during the 2007 New South Wales elections as an independent and received 968 votes, representing 2.8% of valid votes cast.
In September 2008, the Party ran a couple of candidates in councils around New South Wales. In Sutherland Shire
, the Party candidates got a total of 867 votes. In Blacktown, it got 1,229.
Australia First contested the 2010 federal election fielding four candidates for the House of Representatives and two candidates, Peter Schuback and Nick Maine, in the Senate. Australia First obtained 9,680 votes in Queensland for the Senate. The Australia First Party candidates for the lower house and their results were as follows: Terry Cooksley in Chifley, Tony Pettitt in Greenway, Mick Saunders in Lindsay and Alex Nowrick in Deakin. Cooksley received 943 votes (1.17%) and came last, Pettitt got 780 votes (0.98%) and placed 7th; Saunders scored a little higher with 975 votes (1.17%) in a smaller field, coming second last, while Norwick came last in his competition, getting 295 votes (0.37%).
In October 2010, Australia First ran a candidate in the Sutherland Shire
Council election. The AFP candidate, Matt Hodgson, obtained 932 votes or 4% of the total vote.
At the 2011 NSW state election, the Party stood two candidates. Tony Robinson in Mugoa got 1,459 votes or 4% of the vote. In Riverstone, Tony Pettitt got 509 votes or 1.2% of the vote.
, and inciting hatred. Fight Dem Back
, Slackbastard, B'nai B'rith
and many other anti racist groups have accused the Australia First Party of being "racist", "neo Nazi", "extreme right" and of being "far right". The Party has denied all of these accusations. Party leader Jim Salaem was formerly part of the National Socialist Party of Australia in the early 1970s.
Australia First also endorsed independent candidate John Moffat, who was later criticised by B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Michael Lipshutz, Cronulla Liberal
MP Malcolm Kerr
and Lebanese Muslim Association spokesman Jihad Dib for "inciting racial hatred".
On 10 July 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that David Palmer, the Imperial Wizard
of the Ku Klux Klan
in Australia, said several Klan members had secretly joined Australia First. Palmer said Australia First had been identified as an Aryan party and would prove useful "in case the ethnics get out of hand and they need sorting out."
In July 2010, the Green Left Weekly
reported that Australia First was distributing leaflets comparing Africans to monkeys, as well as "blaming Africans for the social problems in Sydney's west". Australia First denied responsibility for the leaflets, claiming that they had been distributed in an attempt to discredit the party.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that is federally registered and is also registered to contest local elections in New South Wales. The Party is led by Jim Saleam
Jim Saleam
Dr James Saleam is an Australian far-right activist and the current chairman of the Australia First Party. Saleam was a former member of the short-lived National Socialist Party of Australia in the early 1970s.Saleam co-founded National Action on Anzac Day, 1982...
. Saleam is the Chairman of the Party in New South Wales but plays a major role in the Party on a national scale. The Party's policies are said to be based on old-fashioned Labor Party values that were allegedly abandoned by the Australian Labor Party in the early 1970s. The policies of Australia First can be described as nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, anti-multicultural and economic protectionist.
History
The Australia First Party was founded in June 1996 by Graeme Campbell, who was an Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for the seat of Kalgoorlie
Division of Kalgoorlie
The Division of Kalgoorlie was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia, named after the city of Kalgoorlie. The Division, which was proclaimed in 1900 as one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election, covered most of the land area of...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, from 1980 until he was expelled from the party in November 1995. Campbell had become increasingly critical of the policies of the Labor government of Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
, particularly in matters relating to economic deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
, Aboriginal land rights, and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
.
Campbell hoped to see the AFP became a serious political party, drawing on a current of populist opinion which rejected the policies of both the Labor Party and the opposition Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. The AFP however was overshadowed by the appearance in 1997 of One Nation, a rival populist party led by an independent MP, Pauline Hanson
Pauline Hanson
Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform...
.
Following Campbell's resignation in June 2001, Diane Teasdale became the national president of the Australia First Party, but at the national level the party had not been very active 2001–2004 (it did not contest the 2001 election).
In 2002, a new AFP branch was formed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The Secretary of the Sydney Branch was Jim Saleam
Jim Saleam
Dr James Saleam is an Australian far-right activist and the current chairman of the Australia First Party. Saleam was a former member of the short-lived National Socialist Party of Australia in the early 1970s.Saleam co-founded National Action on Anzac Day, 1982...
, a stalwart of the Australian far right who was convicted of organising a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
attack on the home of a local representative of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
in the late 1980s. Saleam has maintained his innocence of the charge, claiming he was framed by politicised police, and his legal defence has been published on the internet.
In 2002, the party helped to form the Patriotic Youth League
Patriotic Youth League
The Patriotic Youth League was a youth organisation in Australia. They described themselves as 'radical nationalists', however the media and other groups labelled them Neo-Nazis. Their logo was the Eureka Flag....
to give young Australians a voice in the nationalist side of politics. The PYL was formed by Stuart McBeth who was a university student at the time. The League was described by anti-racist
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
groups as being "far right" and as being "racist".
The wording of the Party's NSW/Federal website, such as "the politics of New World Order
New World Order (conspiracy)
In conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a totalitarian one-world government.The common theme in conspiracy theories about a New World Order is that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an...
liberal-globalist-capitalism", also suggests that the Party has been revived by people of a more nationalistic economic protectionist viewpoint than was the case under Campbell's leadership. Saleam has written many articles about what he sees as the failings of the neo-conservative international policies of the state and federal governments in Australia since December 1972. In keeping with its traditional Labor values, Australia First has been opposed to privatisation and worker exploitation. Saleam has been widely critical of the deregulation of the financial market and of the abolishment of protectionist measures by successful federal governments since 1972 and especially since the election of Hawke-Keating Labor government in 1983.
In April 2007 Darrin Hodges, chairman of the Sutherland Shire
Sutherland Shire
The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
branch, was expelled from Australia First. Hodges went on to co-found the Australian Protectionist Party. Whitelaw Towers, which is linked to the leadership of Australia First, has denounced Hodges and his friends as being "Christian Zionists" and being in league with the Zionist Occupational Government. The Whitelaw Towers website has also claimed that Darrin Hodges is a "kosher nationalist".
In August 2007 Saleam (and several other prominent organisers) were expelled from Australia First by the old party leadership led by Teasdale. Saleam then took control of the NSW membership and incorporated "Australia First Party (NSW)". The Saleam faction also took control of most other party branches like the ones in Toowoomba and Newcastle. The old party leadership refused to recognise the decisions made by the Saleam faction and denounced the faction's moves as being illegal and threatened legal action against Saleam. The old party leadership maintained control over some Party branches thus splitting the party into two separate groups. One was controlled by Saleam and the other by Teasdale. In 2010 all the assets of the old Party were transferred to the new AFP under the leadership of Saleam.
In July 2009, the party announced they had reached their target of 500 members and were registering the party with the federal electoral commission. The party was successfully registered with the Australian Electoral Commission just a month before the August 2010 general election. The party was formally registered in June 2010.
In March 2010, it was announced on the New South Wales website of the Australia First Party that the Eureka Youth League had been formed. In the statement, the Party claimed that it was an "initiative of a few young nationalists" who were members of the AFP.
Policies
According to the programme of the Party, Australia First has eight core policies:- Ensure Australia retains full independence
- Rebuild Australian manufacturing industries
- Control foreign ownership
- Reduce and limit immigration
- Abolish multiculturalism
- Introduce Citizen's Initiated Referendums
- Strengthen the family
- Strive to rebuild a united Australia
Electoral performance
At the October 1998 federal election, Campbell lost his seat, polling only 22 percent of the vote in a seat he had represented for 18 years. The AFP failed to win significant support elsewhere, of which Campbell blames the rise of One Nation in a 2009 interview, stating that they "took 8.5% of the vote from me, which meant I lost the election."In June 2001, Campbell left the AFP in order to stand (unsuccessfully) as a One Nation senate candidate in Western Australia.
The AFP did not contest the 2001 election.
The AFP website says that the party fielded candidates in the 2004 local council elections in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
and Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...
. But the real extent of the AFP's organisation and membership is not known.
In November 2005, AFP president Diane Teasdale stood in the elections for the Shepparton Council Office and received 1373 first preference votes, representing 4.37% of valid votes cast.
In November 2006, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
AFP representative Bruce Preece was elected as Councillor for the St John's Wood Ward of the City of Prospect
City of Prospect
The City of Prospect is an inner urban local government area in Adelaide, South Australia. It has a estimated population of 20,910 people and is one of the oldest LGAs in South Australia.-Suburbs:*Broadview - 5083*Collinswood – 5081*Fitzroy - 5082...
. Preece is the first AFP representative since Campbell to be elected into any level of Government.
AFP representative John Moffat contested the Electoral district of Cronulla
Electoral district of Cronulla
Cronulla is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Mark Speakman of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for Cronulla:-Election results:...
in Sydney during the 2007 New South Wales elections as an independent and received 968 votes, representing 2.8% of valid votes cast.
In September 2008, the Party ran a couple of candidates in councils around New South Wales. In Sutherland Shire
Sutherland Shire
The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
, the Party candidates got a total of 867 votes. In Blacktown, it got 1,229.
Australia First contested the 2010 federal election fielding four candidates for the House of Representatives and two candidates, Peter Schuback and Nick Maine, in the Senate. Australia First obtained 9,680 votes in Queensland for the Senate. The Australia First Party candidates for the lower house and their results were as follows: Terry Cooksley in Chifley, Tony Pettitt in Greenway, Mick Saunders in Lindsay and Alex Nowrick in Deakin. Cooksley received 943 votes (1.17%) and came last, Pettitt got 780 votes (0.98%) and placed 7th; Saunders scored a little higher with 975 votes (1.17%) in a smaller field, coming second last, while Norwick came last in his competition, getting 295 votes (0.37%).
In October 2010, Australia First ran a candidate in the Sutherland Shire
Sutherland Shire
The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
Council election. The AFP candidate, Matt Hodgson, obtained 932 votes or 4% of the total vote.
At the 2011 NSW state election, the Party stood two candidates. Tony Robinson in Mugoa got 1,459 votes or 4% of the vote. In Riverstone, Tony Pettitt got 509 votes or 1.2% of the vote.
Activities
- On 8 October 2005, up to fifteen AFP members (including Saleam) rallied outside Kirribilli HouseKirribilli HouseKirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli...
to protest against the suspension of Professor Andrew FraserDrew FraserAndrew William Fraser is a Canadian-born academic and was latterly an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Law at Macquarie University in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
of Macquarie UniversityMacquarie UniversityMacquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
. - On 11 December 2005, the Sydney AFP branch, along with the PYL, distributed pamphlets, stickers and allegedly alcohol at the Sydney beachside suburb of CronullaCronulla, New South WalesCronulla is a beachside suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Sutherland Shire....
where an estimated 5000 people had gathered to protest against harassment by Lebanese gangs. SBS World NewsSBS World NewsWorld News Australia is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS One with additional weeknight 'late' bulletins at on SBS One...
on 13 December 2005 reported that Saleam had organised around 150 members and sympathisers to attend the rally. - Several AFP members returned to Cronulla the following month during the Australia DayAustralia DayAustralia Day is the official national day of Australia...
festivities to further their campaign. - Australia First supporters handed out leafets at the rally in Melbourne on 28 June 2006, protesting against the Howard Government's industrial relations lawsWorkChoicesThe Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
. The leaflets focused almost entirely on the issue of "foreign workerForeign workerA foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
s" being brought into Australia and "undermining the wages of Australian workers". The leaflet gave post office box addresses in CroydonCroydon, VictoriaCroydon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maroondah. At the 2006 Census, Croydon had a population of 22,029.-Public transport:...
and SheppartonShepparton, VictoriaShepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
as contact points, and also gave two party websites - On 7 October 2006, over a dozen members of the Sutherland ShireSutherland ShireThe Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
branch of the AFP rallied outside the office of CookDivision of CookThe Division of Cook is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1969 and is named for James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. It is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda and Sylvania...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Bruce BairdBruce BairdBruce George Baird, AM , is a former Australian politician.-Early life:Baird was born in Sydney, and was educated at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, holding a master's degree in business administration from the latter...
to highlight their opposition to his liberal views on refugeeRefugeeA refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
and asylum seeker policy. The AFP described the rally as the start of a campaign to "reclaim Australia and defend people's rights". - In January 2007 Australia First supporters distributed 2500 leaflets in TamworthTamworth, New South WalesTamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, that claimed refugees spread crime and disease. This was in response to the council's decision to approve a refugee program that would resettle up to five Sudanese families in the area. The council had initially rejected the program. - In 2010, The Australia First Party joined in the campaign against the importation of beef from countries infected or has previously been infected with the Mad Cow Disease. Australia First Joins In United Campaign Against Foreign Beef Imports
- In November 2010, Australia First was accused of letter boxing thousands of racist leaflets that claimed that "Sub-Saharan African males on the most part possess low IQs and high testosterone levels/sex drives, characteristics which make them potential weapons of mass destruction to everyday Australians going about their daily lives". The leaflets were distributed in Campbelltown near Sydney. The Party Chairman, Doctor Saleam, claimed that "We have never written anything like that and whoever has written this has a very odd sense of humour. There is no comment that can be possibly made to this argument". Australia First Denies Racist Mailbox Flyers
- Australia First was accused of trying to start a riot on Australia Day 2011. The NSW Police Force told the Daily Telegraph that they were keeping an eye on the Party and on other groups to make sure that they didn't cause any problems.
- Thousands of leaflets were distributed in Aratula, Boonah and Warwick on Australia Day 2011. They called for the scrapping of the racial and discrimination acts. The leaflets also attacked multiculturalism and multiracialism.
Racism allegations
The Party has been brought into the spotlight for ideologies of violence, racismRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and inciting hatred. Fight Dem Back
Fight Dem Back
Fight Dem Back, often abbreviated FDB, is an Australian and New Zealand anti-racist group. It claims to concentrate its attention on the Australian & New Zealand white nationalist, fascist and neo-Nazi scenes.-Name:...
, Slackbastard, B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
and many other anti racist groups have accused the Australia First Party of being "racist", "neo Nazi", "extreme right" and of being "far right". The Party has denied all of these accusations. Party leader Jim Salaem was formerly part of the National Socialist Party of Australia in the early 1970s.
Australia First also endorsed independent candidate John Moffat, who was later criticised by B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Michael Lipshutz, Cronulla Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
MP Malcolm Kerr
Malcolm Kerr (Australian politician)
Malcolm John Kerr JP , a former Australian politician, was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Cronulla for the Liberal Party of Australia between 1984 and 2011.Kerr is a barrister and is not married....
and Lebanese Muslim Association spokesman Jihad Dib for "inciting racial hatred".
On 10 July 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that David Palmer, the Imperial Wizard
Grand Wizard
Grand Wizard was the title given to the leader of the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan which existed from 1866 to 1871.In 1915, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was created, initially as a fraternal organization. The highest-ranking leader of the latter organization was the Imperial Wizard. National...
of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
in Australia, said several Klan members had secretly joined Australia First. Palmer said Australia First had been identified as an Aryan party and would prove useful "in case the ethnics get out of hand and they need sorting out."
In July 2010, the Green Left Weekly
Green Left Weekly
Green Left Weekly is an Australian radical left-wing newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". It was published by the Democratic Socialist Perspective from its inception in 1990 until January 2010, when the DSP merged into the Socialist...
reported that Australia First was distributing leaflets comparing Africans to monkeys, as well as "blaming Africans for the social problems in Sydney's west". Australia First denied responsibility for the leaflets, claiming that they had been distributed in an attempt to discredit the party.