Thread by @POPpoliticsAus

1. With the AEC finally confirming registration of Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party, here’s a #thread on far-right parties in Australia ahead of the federal election #auspol.

2. First, a definition. The most common (but not only) interpretation of ‘far right’ comes from @CasMudde, who distinguishes the far right on the basis of an ideological core of nativism in what is still my favourite book (pictured) on the far right.

3. Mudde describes nativism as: “An ideology, which holds that states should be inhabited exclusively by members of the native group (‘the nation’) and that non-native elements (persons and ideas) are fundamentally threatening to the homogenous nation-state” (2007: 19).

4. Under the far-right umbrella are the ‘radical’ and ‘extreme’ right, distinguished on the basis of their relationship to democracy. The radical right is (nominally) democratic, the extreme right is antidemocratic.

5. So, back to Australia. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is without a doubt the largest and most significant player in the Australian far right. The party, and Hanson herself, are textbook examples of what Mudde calls the “populist radical right”

6. There's plenty of great literature out there on One Nation. @aurelmondon’s book (2013) and chapter with @slackbastard in the ‘Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right', as well as @bjmoffitt’s wonderful ‘Global Rise of Populism’, are a few recent standouts.

7. When it comes to electioneering, One Nation has secured a foothold in the state parliaments of QLD (13.73% vote, 1 member), WA (8.19% vote, 3 members) and NSW (1 member, with counting yet to be finalised).

8. Though these results have been less than expected (especially in QLD/WA) and the party faces a greater challenge without a double dissolution at the 2019 federal election, One Nation has a sizeable war chest, an extremely loyal membership/supporter network…

9. …and what is still the largest parliamentary representation group for an Aus far-right party (even if that has dropped from 4 down to 2). But with Liberal/National preferences ruled out, and competition on their right flank, they’ll be in for a fight.

10. Australian Liberty Alliance. The political party project of the secretive Q Society (Australia’s “leading Islam-critical organisation”). Launched in 2015 with the help of international far-right icon Geert Wilders (PVV) and Anne-Marie Waters (of UKIP split For Britain).

11. Despite significant funding and candidates with strong credentials in the Australian far-right and anti-Islam communities, inc. Bernard Gaynor (R) and Kiralee Smith (L) the party struggled at the 2016 federal election (because One Nation stole their thunder).

12. The ALA contested the 2017 Victorian election with well known far-right activist Avi Yemini (pictured with EDL founder and UKIP advisor Tommy Robinson and Ezra Levant of Rebel Media) standing as their star candidate.

13. Unfortunately for the ALA, Yemini only achieved 0.49% of the vote. President of both the ALA and the Q Society president Debbie Robinson had also hinted at contesting the recent NSW state election in the seat of Lakemba, but it seems it never went ahead?

14. In response to their lack of electoral success the ALA is trying for a rebrand ahead of the federal election – applying to change their name to Yellow Vest Australia… though I’m not sure how well a French protest symbol will go over in the Australian nationalist milieu.

15. Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party. Though only registered this week, Anning has been busy traveling the country building his fledgling party. Despite the effort, Anning knows he has very little chance of being re-elected.

smh.com.au/politics/feder…

16. But this hasn’t stopped him drawing on the public purse to position himself as #1 with Australia’s explicitly white supremacist community, e.g.

smh.com.au/politics/feder…

17. Love Australia or Leave. The project of Queensland anti-mosque organiser Kim Vuga (pictured). Vuga, who was a key organiser in the Stop the Mosque Gladstone campaign and speaker at Reclaim Australia rallies.

18. The party’s chances of election are slim-to-none. But their preferences are likely to flow to One Nation. Vuga is chummy with Pauline Hanson, as seen below with former Liberal councillor Marcus Cornish at a fundraiser for a Penrith anti-mosque group.

19. Rise Up Australia Party. RUAP is something of a curiosity in the Aus far right. Launched in 2011 by Sri Lankan evangelical Christian pastor Daniel ‘Danny’ Nalliah, a former Family First candidate, the party has an incredibly diverse membership for an anti-immigration party.

20. Nalliah was in a bit of an awkward spot however after working closely with the now defunct United Patriots Front, given the status of its leadership as avowed neo-Nazis. It makes for some awkward reading in @JohnSafran’s ‘Depends What You Mean by Extremist’

21. Citizens Electoral Council of Australia. The Australian face of the virulently anti-semitic LaRouche Movement. Founded in 1988, registered in 1997, deregistered in 2006, before being reregistered in 2007. It has very little chance of an electoral breakthrough. Ever.

22. Australia First Party. Australia’s leading neo-Nazi party, led by Australia’s most infamous neo-Nazi, Jim Saleam. Good Weekend profiled Saleam in 2009. The original article is no longer available online, but can be found here: slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=8140

23. While not registered to contest state or local elections in NSW, AFP members regularly stand as independents. At the 2019 NSW election, Saleam stood for the seat of Cootamundra, calling for an “ideological revolution”. Suffice to say, the revolution has yet to arrive.

24. Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party is a bit of a funny one. At the ideological and policy level it doesn’t fit the bill. In fact, it’s hardly different from its predecessor Palmer United Party (2013-2017) – that is, shamelessly opportunistic and populist.

25. But at the organisational level, it's not so clear. UAP's only elected rep is former One Nation senator Brian Burston and the party bureaucracy is largely made up of former One Nation candidates/staffers.

townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsvill…

26. Indeed, Palmer is pretty explicit about targeting One Nation’s support base.

27. And while policy and campaign content remain very much in the PUP vein, a significant portion of UAP’s memes are filled with Alt-Right symbols, as I’ve written about previously.

poppoliticsaus.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/alt…

28. So too is the United Australia Party mobile app, “Clive Palmer, Humble Meme Merchant”.

https://twitter.com/jordan_mcswiney/status/1084693932200480769

29. It’s probably also worth mentioning the (unregistered) Great Australia Party of former One Nation senator Rod Culleton. Culleton, who was replaced by his brother in law Peter Georgiou due to bankruptcy, wants to return to parliament.

30. Mostly it's a personal vendetta to try and clear Culleton’s name. GAP's pitch is that the Constitution Act of 1900 remains in force, and thus many subsequent acts of parliament are invalid (include the one which cost Culleton his seat)

theaustralian.com.au/nation/nation/…

31. Lastly, a few parties which, though not far right, probably deserve less than ‘honourable’ mention.

32. Christian Democratic Party. Founder and leader Fred Nile, upon hearing of the formation of the ALA, expressed disappointment that they didn’t just join the CDP.

afr.com/news/politics/…

33. Australian Conservatives. The party of renegade Liberal arch-Tory Cory Bernardi. In 2017 Bernardi spoke at a fundraiser for the Q Society of Australia.

theguardian.com/australia-news…

34. Australian Conservatives have also endorsed Kiralee Smith - a former ALA candidate and founder of anti-Halal organisation ‘Halal Choices’ - as a senate candidate for NSW

smh.com.au/politics/feder…

35. Katter’s Australia Party. The first home of Fraser Anning post-One Nation, Bob Katter stood by Anning’s maiden speech - which called for a return for the White Australia policy and a ‘final solution’ to immigration - describing it as “solid gold".

theguardian.com/australia-news…

36. Liberal Democratic Party. Home to Mark Latham before he became NSW leader for One Nation. LDP leader and former Senator David Leyonhjelm also brought prominent Alt-Righter Milo Yiannopoulous to Parliament.

smh.com.au/politics/feder…

37. Last but not least, the Liberal National Coalition. Queensland LNP’s George Christensen has spoken at events organised by both Reclaim Australia and the Q Society. Christensen was also a guest on the Australian Alt-Right podcast ‘The Dingoes’.

smh.com.au/politics/feder…

38. Former Liberal member for Parramatta Ross Cameron also spoke at the Q Society dinner alongside Bernardi and Christensen.

39. Add to this the personal efforts of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to repatriate white South African farmers, which helped give air to a key far-right talking point.

theguardian.com/world/2018/aug…

40. And who could forget: the government voted in support of One Nation’s “it’s okay to be white” Senate motion, helping to bring a white supremacist meme from 4Chan into the federal parliament.

abc.net.au/news/2018-10-1…

Hopefully folks found this interesting/useful. For more, follow me @jordan_mcswiney.