Source : the age
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has increased efforts to disguise from the public that its members are volunteering in the Liberal Party’s election campaign, and has urged its followers to turn up en masse on election day.
In a secret recording, obtained by this masthead, of a post-campaign briefing call, a senior Brethren member instructed those working as volunteers to avoid answering questions about their religious affiliation by pretending not to know what the questioner was talking about.
A man in a Liberal Party T-shirt puts up a poster authorised by Freedom Party candidate Morgan C. Jonas in the seat of Whitlam, NSW.
A separate text message suggested female volunteers change what they were wearing at polling booths because they had become too readily identifiable as members of the extremist Christian sect, previously known as the Exclusive Brethren.
Even though they do not vote, hundreds of members of the church, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week called a cult, have volunteered at polling booths in the lead up to the election. The son of the sect’s leader and “Man of God,” Bruce Hales, was seen at a polling booth on Wednesday.
Sources within the Brethren, who cannot speak publicly for fear of ramifications, have confirmed senior church members have told volunteers to step up the campaign to achieve “100 per cent turnout” on Saturday.
The Liberal Party has denied the Brethren effort was organised by or co-ordinated with Peter Dutton’s campaign. Dutton said on Thursday the idea to use the Brethren did not begin in his office, and the Brethren said its members decided individually to campaign.
On the secret recording, an unidentified Brethren co-ordinator gave volunteers hints about how to obscure their church membership.
“I’ve heard of at least three different occasions where some of our volunteers have been asked if they’re Brethren through the day today,” the organiser told volunteers.
“And, some of them were handled very well, like, ‘Sorry, what did you say? Who? Who? What? What?’ You know, ‘What are you talking about?’ And that’s just a really good answer. Or somebody else said, ‘Are you Brethren or are you Liberal?’ And, ideally, you just say, ‘What? Sorry, what are you talking about?’”
The volunteers were also told to claim, if asked whether they voted, that “Yes, everybody over 18 votes.”
Brethren doctrine holds that government is of God and “those in positions of authority have been placed there by God” – a quote from the book of Romans. They quote this or other Bible verses when seeking an exemption from voting on conscience grounds.
On the end-of-day campaign recording, an organiser tells the Brethren volunteers “just a couple of war stories from the front”.
He exhorts volunteers to smile, “kill with kindness” and engage in small talk with other campaigners to help “win the day”.
“You don’t have to be smart alecs, you don’t need to answer back everything … act as if everything you do or say will be broadcast on national TV.” This habit, he said, would “keep us in check”.
“We’ve got a bigger picture, and winning is fun! … We’re going to get stronger, smarter, faster, and we can smell the victory that’s in the air,” the unidentified Brethren elder says.
“We feel like the opposition’s getting weaker and weaker as the days go on, but we, we’re getting stronger and stronger. We need to be prepared not to give ground against … against these guys, especially the unions.”
Another communication from within an encrypted message group and leaked to this masthead told Brethren women, known in the church as “sisters”, to change what they were wearing at polling booths because they have become too recognisable.
“The main photos getting taken are of sisters in leggings and sports skirts. So please wear jeans, shorts or trackpants,” said the message to female volunteers.
Brethren members supporting the Liberal candidate head to a polling booth in Kooyong.
This masthead can also reveal apparent associations between the Brethren, the Liberals and far-right campaigners including fringe activist and Freedom Party candidate Morgan C. Jonas.
A video emerged on Thursday of a Brethren volunteer in a Liberal T-shirt putting up a poster authorised by Jonas. The poster reads: “Defend the Right to Worship” – an apparent reference to the religious freedom argument the Brethren have used to defend their campaigning.
Another similar poster, also carrying Jonas’ authorisation, says, “Stand against faith-based hatred”.
The lines echo Plymouth Brethren Christian Church talking points. On Tuesday, in response to Albanese’s “cult” comment, the church issued a statement that the prime minister should advocate for “all religions to be able to live free from hatred or discrimination in this country”.
Anti-Labor and pro-Liberal signage is being stored at the premises of a business run by a Plymouth Brethren Christian Church member in Orange.
A Liberal spokesperson said the party “has no connection or involvement with Mr Jonas”. Jonas did not respond to a request for comment. Brethren spokesman Lloyd Grimshaw said there was no agreement with Jonas.
However, evidence has also emerged of Freedom Party posters being stored in the yard, and outside the front gate, of two Brethren-owned business premises in Orange, in the independent-held NSW seat of Calare.
