Arabic version: كنيسة الإخوة ترفض اتهامات بالتحرش الانتخابي

According to ABC News, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has denied allegations that it secretly paid people, including far-right influencers, to disrupt Labor’s re-election campaign last year. The allegations, published by Nine newspapers, included claims that church members coordinated influencers to harass election candidates and track them during the campaign.

Lloyd Grimshaw, a director of the church, told a Senate inquiry the allegations were a “complete lie”. He denied the church made donations to political parties or third parties and said the report made no specific allegation about a named church member. Grimshaw said there was no institutional coordination by the church, while maintaining that individual members could volunteer for political campaigns in their private time.

He said the church had a strong volunteering culture and that members had normal reasons for helping, including supporting a candidate or assisting with an election-day barbecue. During the election, candidates reported large numbers of Liberal volunteers at some pre-poll booths and believed many were Brethren members. The Coalition and the church had denied any arrangement for support.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia needed to “draw a line” on alleged behaviour involving physical intimidation around elections. He called on the Liberal Party to explain what it knew about the Brethren during the campaign, and said One Nation should explain whether it was welcoming the same individuals.

At the inquiry, independent MP Monique Ryan challenged Grimshaw’s assertion that Brethren volunteers were not identifiable. She said women canvassing in Kooyong wore a uniform of black skirts and leggings and repeatedly used the phrase, “Make Australia happy again.” Grimshaw said the church had no input into volunteer coordination in Kooyong and that questions about reported calls made for the Liberal Party were for that party to answer.