Debate is raging in Australia’s most Jewish electorate, Wentworth, about the origins of an advertisement urging voters to “Keep Australia Christian - Don’t vote Labor/Green Coalition”.

Christian sect Exclusive Brethren has denied that it circulated the advertisement, which says: “Kevin Rudd and his team in Wentworth (George Newhouse) want to do away with Christian values”.

But this hasn’t stopped the ALP trying to smear Wentworth MP Malcolm Turnbull, alleging that he is party to the advertisement and calling on him to declare any links, personal or financial, he may have with the sect.

Turnbull responded to the ALP's allegations and told The AJN, "I have no involvement with the Exclusive Brethren church at all. I have no involvement and no knowledge of their supposed activities," he said.

Wentworth Labor candidate George Newhouse said he was unable to comment about Exclusive Brethren campaigning in his electorate because the Australian Electoral Commission and Australian Federal Police are investigating the advertisement. He did call on Turnbull to discuss whether he has received any financial or in-kind support from what he called a "shadowy group".

Members of Exclusive Brethren do not vote on “conscientious grounds”, but according to their website, “individual members are free to vote to support causes or principles in which they believe. We believe, as citizens, that we should be able to warn the public of serious challenges to the moral fabric of society, including through advertisements”.

Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello have admitted to meeting with the leadership of Exclusive Brethren and allegations have been made that the organisation donates thousands of dollars to the Liberal Party.

Labor leader Kevin Rudd has refused to meet with members of the sect, telling the ABC in August that it is an “extremist cult and sect" that “breaks up families”.

Extract:

The Lib-Nats also emphatically denied they would make any changes to workplace laws prior to the last election yet the unpopular and misnamed "WorkChoices" programme was introduced the minute the right-wing government had the opportunity to do so after votes had been counted.

If the Liberal-National government loses the election to Labor in next month's election the two key reasons will be because the right-wing government misled the public about its plans to withdraw working families employment conditions and rights and the incompetence and lack of honesty over the war in Iraq.

Last week was dominated by the news that the Liberal Party maintains close relations with the Exclusive Brethren with two senior ‘elders’ having lobbyist passes, giving them access to ministers' and MPs' parliamentary offices. These passes were vouched for by senior Liberal MPs.

The Brethren fundamentalists also have an advertising account with a public relations firm that has close links with the Liberal campaign. The fundamentalist Brethren are currently under investigation by the Federal Police into the spending of A$370,000 on pro-Howard Liberal ads at the last election. This seems like it could be the tip of the iceberg of what may be happening at this election between the Brethren ‘brothers’ and Howard’s political campaign.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he has no knowledge of the dealings of the Exclusive Brethren and no involvement with the controversial religious sect.

A News Ltd newspaper on Tuesday reported the federal police is investigating claims by the sect that an unsigned flyer is being distributed in its name in Mr Turnbull's Wentworth electorate.

The sect already has denied claims by the Labor candidate for the seat, George Newhouse, that it is campaigning against him.

The Exclusive Brethren has told the AEC that the anonymous flyers are an attempt to discredit the group.

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese called on Mr Turnbull to state his relationship with the sect.

But Mr Turnbull denied any connection.

"I have no involvement with the Exclusive Brethren church at all," Mr Turnbull said while campaigning in Bondi on Tuesday.

"No involvement and no knowledge of there supposed activities ... I think this is an Albanese beat-up.

"I have no idea about what he's talking about."

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) spokesman confirmed it was evaluating an Australian Electoral Commission referral regarding advertising materials.

The Exclusive Brethren, which does not permit its members to vote, is currently under investigation by the AFP for funding the Liberal Party during the 2004 election.

It is claimed senior leaders of the sect channelled $320,000 to a company which used the money to fund pro-Liberal and anti-Greens political advertising.

The AFP is investigating the spending before the 2004 election of $370,000 on advertising by Willmac Enterprises, set up by church member Mark William Mackenzie.

Justice Minister David Johnston says the investigation is a matter for the Australian Electoral Commission, not the police.

The anonymous leaflet, titled Keep Australia Christian, urged a vote for the Howard government because of what it claimed were anti-family policies of Labor and the Greens.

These included what were purported to be Labor and Green policies on abortion, gay marriage, sex change operations, drugs and pornography.

Senator Johnston said an investigation should be carried out by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) not the police.

"I don't think it is a matter for the federal police, it is a matter for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)," Senator Johnston told reporters.

"They're the regulator, and if monies are paid in as by way of electoral funding, then they are declarable."

Senator Johnston said he was unaware of "any secret dealings".

"I'm not aware of their (Exclusive Brethren) dealings. I am not aware of them having secret dealings," he said.

"It is very easy to say that when you are a small religious sect that you are a secret organisation, having secret dealings.

"I am not aware of that, and I think it's probably unfair to paint a broad brush across them like that."

Labor has challenged Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reveal what he knows about a shadowy Christian sect in his Sydney electorate of Wentworth.

The Australian newspaper today reported the Australian Federal Police was investigating dirty tricks in Wentworth, which Mr Turnbull holds by the narrow margin of 2.5 per cent.

The Exclusive Brethren denied to the paper that it was campaigning against Labor candidate George Newhouse.

A leaflet, titled Keep Australia Christian, urged a vote for the Howard Government because of what it claimed were anti-family policies of Labor and the Greens.

These included what were purported to be Labor and Green policies on abortion, gay marriage, sex change operations, drugs and pornography.

"The sect yesterday lodged a complaint with the Australian Electoral Commission claiming an unsigned flyer distributed in the electorate is designed to 'discredit our Church'," the report stated.

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said Mr Turnbull should break his silence on what the Brethren was up to in his electorate.

"Mr Turnbull must immediately repudiate the organisation and state whether he - or a member of his staff or campaign team - has met with the extremist organisation," Mr Albanese said.

He pointed out that at least four senior coalition figures, including Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello had met the Exclusive Brethren.

Mr Turnbull also should rule out accepting any official or in-kind support financial or otherwise from the Brethren, Mr Albanese said.

"Make no mistake - the tentacles of this shadowy ultra-right wing sect spread right up to the prime minister," he said.

"The news report says the flyer claims the authors are not a political party, and do not vote - a distinct policy of the Exclusive Brethren."

Extract:

It has been Abbott and Costello who've made the religious running: Tony opposing the abortion pill and Peter telling the churches and their charitable wings to butt out of social policy, to leave politics to the politicians. Yet this didn't stop Costello's obligatory appearances at Hillsong. It seems the churches can butt in when they're on his side. And Abbott's activities remind us that the Libs have been successful in embracing Catholics, who used to tribally support the ALP. It wasn't so long ago that Costello's predecessor as treasurer, Phillip Lynch, was the only Catholic who'd cracked it for a Liberal ministry.

Howard's worst blunders on matters religious were his recent tetes-a-tete with that thoroughly unpleasant cult the Exclusive Brethren. The Brethren's enthusiasms for ultra-conservative social values have led to secretive and generous interventions in Australian and New Zealand election campaigns. But Howard's cordiality towards the cult has cost him. Its extremism is unattractive to the wider community, and its theological zeal alienates the mainstream churches.

If you didn’t see last night’s Four Corners on the Exclusive Brethren, I highly recommend that you watch it online here on Four Corners’ excellent website.

It exposed in the clearest way we’ve seen yet the shadowy and, in some cases, illegal role that this extremist cult has played in Australian and overseas elections in recent years. They have channelled cash from around the world, amassing election war chests for advertising campaigns attacking the Greens and supporting John Howard, George Bush, NZ’s Don Brash and the Swedish conservatives.

Now, of course, any citizen or group should be able to engage in election campaigning. That is everyone’s basic democratic right. Questions over the Exclusive Brethren’s decision to do so even though they forbid their members to vote, believing governments are raised up by God, are neither here nor there.

However, one of the fundamentals of democracy, as interviewee Peter Trainor said, is that “when we interpret a political message, part of interpreting that message is knowing who is presenting that message to us.”

Now, the Brethren’s modus operandi is to run ads that look like they are placed by concerned conservative individuals. They might suggest that they are from schools. Too often, they give false names and addresses as the official authorisation. They never explicitly state that they are from the Exclusive Brethren.

For our democracy to work effectively, we must have access to full information before we make our choices. And that includes information on how to assess and interpret what we are told. Australians will take a different message from the same ad on the pulp mill, for example, depending on whether it comes from its proponents, Gunns, or from a group indirectly funded by Gunns but calling itself “Timber Communities Australia”.

The Exclusive Brethren are entitled to participate in Australian elections and to support John Howard and attack the Greens. But it is vital that any pro Howard or anti Green attacks are clearly labelled as coming from them so that Australian voters know the message is not from concerned individuals but from an extreme and shadowy cult: A cult whose schools are federally funded even though they do not allow their students to go on to tertiary education and who disallow computers. A cult who Prime Minister Howard has rewarded by exempting them from legislation such that they can ban unions in their workplaces.

Former Family Court chief justice Alastair Nicholson has accused the Exclusive Brethren church of brainwashing and abusing children by denying them access to their non-Brethren parents.

Mr Nicholson also accused it of failing to comply with court orders, of stacking Family Court rooms with supporters to intimidate opponents, of using their almost unlimited legal funds to "conduct appeals no matter how hopeless", and of "unacceptable" comments about being above the law.

A Brethren spokesman rejected all the comments, saying church members sought to "uphold the law at all times".

The Exclusive Brethren, which has contributed millions of dollars to conservative political campaigns, including the re-election of Prime Minister John Howard in 2004, practices a policy of separation from the world, which includes keeping children from parents who are out of the fellowship.

Non-Brethren parents have for decades fought bruising Family Court battles to try to get access to their children.

Mr Nicholson, who retired in 2004 after 16 years as head of the Family Court, revealed last year that he had been visited by two delegations of Exclusive Brethren elders trying to persuade him to help them keep families apart.

Brethren children often tell their non-Brethren parent as part of custody disputes that they are evil and that they do not want to spend time with them.

"You'd have to be highly suspicious that, if not coached, that the children had in effect been brainwashed into believing that they shouldn't see the other parent," he said in an interview with the ABC's Four Corners, which did not go to air. "To treat children in that way is abusive of them, and it's psychologically very damaging to the child. It's in effect telling the child that their parent is worthless … and that really is quite unacceptable."

Mr Nicholson said church members were "reluctant to comply with court orders", which "had to be enforced with vigour".

A church spokesman rejected the comments, saying the Brethren encouraged members to abide by custody rulings. There were "numerous cases where joint custody arrangements are working smoothly".

In 2003, world leader Bruce D. Hales told a Brethren gathering that "I can't exactly expect to get mercy in the judicial system" and the Brethren church was "the highest court" that had "the power to overrule other judgements".

Mr Nicholson said it was "obviously not acceptable in a democratic society for people to treat themselves as above the law", although it was not an uncommon view among strictly religious people.

The Brethren said Mr Hales' comment was a "theological reference … that moral and spiritual matters are dealt with by the church, despite these issues not always being considered in a court of law".

Labor spokesman Anthony Albanese wants the Howard Government to "disclose all of the financial and other support they have received from the Exclusive Brethren" for November's election.

The Exclusive Brethren has consistently lied about the source of funds for its massive pro-John Howard advertising campaign at the last election, it was alleged last night.

The ABC's Four Corners program revealed that, in three months surrounding the 2004 federal election, Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John deposited $340,000, mostly in cash, into the bank account of Willmac Enterprises, the company that funded the campaign.

It was part of a total $375,000 injected into the business over the period.

The donations were not declared to the Australian Electoral Commission by Willmac's director, Mark Mackenzie, and are now being investigated by federal police.

Brethren members have always maintained that the massive campaign funds came from the earnings of the company, even though it was set up only weeks before election day.

But the Four Corners program said it had seen evidence of six major cash deposits from Mr John — the biggest for $120,000 — even though he was not employed by Willmac, nor was he a director.

In a statement, Mr John categorically denied that he had made any donations, saying it was "a complete fallacy". The program also described a massive international flow of cash, nick-named the "Brethren Express", in which members ferry money in envelopes across borders for unknown purposes.

But the sect's world leader, Bruce D. Hales, said in a statement: "Suggestions by Four Corners that there is a co-ordinated campaign by the Exclusive Brethren Church to spirit large sums of cash around the world in breach of Australian laws are completely false. There is no illegality and there is no evidence of illegality."

He said the church was "being persecuted because of its beliefs".

The Age revealed yesterday that Mr John was one of two Brethren lobbyists in Federal Parliament House whose access pass was sponsored by two Liberal backbenchers.

Prime Minister John Howard has maintained his strong support for the Exclusive Brethren, and has defended his meetings with its leaders.

Mr John's statement describes their most recent meeting, on August 8, revealing the apparent familiarity of the church's leaders with the Prime Minister.

"I was in Canberra and I greeted Mr Howard and inquired from him whether Mr Hales could meet him for a short discussion," Mr John's statement reads.

"There was no agenda for the meeting and nothing critical was discussed, only economic matters in general. Mr Howard is always interested in how small business is faring, and there was a brief discussion about TV shows concerning the Brethren. Mr Howard did not approve of the public vilification of the Brethren as a Christian church … No commitments or promises as to campaign support were discussed or agreed upon."

The ease of access contrasts with that of the former president of the Uniting Church, Dean Drayton.

Dr Drayton said he had tried on about four occasions to arrange meetings with the PM both as president of his church, and representative of the National Council of Churches, which represents 4 million people. He sought meetings on subjects such as asylum seekers and WorkChoices, but "there was no real response from the Prime Minister's department".

"I'm very surprised that the Exclusive Brethren have been able to meet so often with the Prime Minister," Dr Drayton said.

The Exclusive Brethren have consistently covered up the source of funds for their huge pro-John Howard advertising campaign at the last election, it was alleged last night.

The ABC's Four Corners revealed that, in three months surrounding the 2004 federal election, the Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John deposited $340,000, mostly in cash, into the bank account of Willmac Enterprises, the company that funded the campaign.

It was part of a total $375,000 injected into the business over the period. Willmac did not declare the donations to the Australian Electoral Commission. Whether it should have is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.

The Brethren have always maintained that the campaign funds came from the earnings of the company, which was set up weeks before election day.

The program said it had seen evidence of six major cash deposits from Mr John - the biggest for $120,000. Mr John was not employed by Willmac, nor was he a director. In a statement, he denied he had made any donations, saying this was "a complete fallacy".

The program also described a huge international flow of money cash, nick-named the "Brethren Express" in which members ferry money in envelopes across borders for unknown purposes.

But the sect's world leader, Bruce Hales, said in a statement: "Suggestions by Four Corners that there is a co-ordinated campaign by the Exclusive Brethren Church to spirit large sums of cash around the world in breach of Australian laws are completely false. There is no illegality and there is no evidence of illegality."

Melbourne's Age yesterday revealed Mr John was one of two Brethren lobbyists in Parliament House whose access pass was sponsored by two Liberal backbenchers.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has maintained his strong support for the Exclusive Brethren, and has defended his meetings with them.

Mr John's statement describes their most recent meeting, on August 8. It says, in part: "There was no agenda for the meeting and nothing critical was discussed only economic matters in general. Mr Howard is always interested in how small business is faring, and there was a brief discussion about TV shows concerning the Brethren. Mr Howard did not approve of the public vilification of the Brethren as a Christian church … There was no discussion or mention whatsoever of Willmac Enterprises or the [federal police]."

The Exclusive Brethren religious sect has denied allegations a senior member channelled $320,000 to a company which used the money to fund pro-Liberal and anti-Greens political advertising.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating the spending before the 2004 election of $370,000 on advertising by Willmac Enterprises, set up by church member Mark William Mackenzie.

The ABC Four Corners program tonight said it had seen evidence that between September and December 2004, Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John deposited $320,000 in cash into Willmac's bank account.

The leader of the Exclusive Brethren Bruce Hales tonight issued a statement saying he denied a series of claims contained in the ABC program.

Mr Hales said the group had not acted illegally.

He said allegations that there was a coordinated campaign by the Brethren to move large sums of cash around the world in breach of Australian laws was “completely false”.

“There is no illegality and there is no evidence of illegality,” Mr Hales said.

“Some Brethren carry gifts of cash to distribute to persons engaged in furthering the work of the Lord and none of this money is gifted for or related to political campaigns.

“This money is always well within Australian foreign currency limits.”

He said the Brethren was falsely accused of wrongdoing and the program was no more than a witch hunt.

“The church feels it is being persecuted because of its beliefs.”

A senior leader of the secretive Exclusive Brethren religious sect channelled $320,000 to a company which used the money to fund pro-Liberal and anti-Greens political advertising, the ABC has reported.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating the spending before the 2004 election of $370,000 on advertising by Willmac Enterprises, set up by church member Mark William Mackenzie.

The ABC Four Corners program tonight said it had seen evidence that between late September to late December 2004, Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John deposited $320,000 in cash into Willmac's bank account.

These donations were not declared to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) by Willmac's director, Mr Mackenzie, the ABC said.

While church members around the country booked and authorised ads, Mr Mackenzie signed cheques to pay for them, the ABC reported.

Warwick John sent a statement to the program which read: “I can confirm that I have never deposited any money into Willmac Enterprises, and to suggest otherwise is a complete fallacy”.

Exclusive Brethren spokesman Phil McNaughton said on the program that no church funds were expended on political campaigns.pe”I know that the church funds are audited and that no money was ever given for political purposes,” he told the program.

In August this year, two-and-a-half months after the AEC called in the AFP to investigate Willmac, Exclusive Brethren leader “Elect Vessel” Bruce Hales, Mr John and Mr Mackenzie met with Prime Minister John Howard in his Canberra office.

Mr Howard has defended the meeting and the sect, which he says has been victim to “villainous attacks” by Australian Greens leader Bob Brown.

The ABC also reported the Brethren was taking an active role in political campaigning as far back as the 1993 election campaign, when John Hewson was Liberal Party leader.

Asked if he had been aware the Brethren had been campaigning in support of him, Dr Hewson told the program: “No I wasn't, and they should have campaigned harder, just that little bit more. I didn't know anything about it.”

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has branded the Exclusive Brethren an “extremist cult” and criticised Mr Howard for meeting with its leaders.

The sect also has been accused of running a smear campaign against New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and hiring a private detective to investigate leading members of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Exclusive Brethren members are prohibited from voting, attending university, and having TVs, radios, personal computers and mobile phones. They are also banned from contact with family members who leave the church.

ABC TV's Four Corners program says it has evidence that members of the Exclusive Brethren religious group set up a shelf company to fund political advertisements.

Willmac Enterprises, a $10 company set up by church member Mark Mackenzie, spent more than $370,000 to promote the Brethren's agenda in the 2004 election.

The program says it has seen evidence of six major cash deposits into the company's bank account from Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John.

It is also claimed church members funnelled tens of thousands of dollars in cash around the world in envelopes, possibly breaching customs regulations.

These donations to the company were not declared to the Australian Electoral Commission and are now being investigated by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

In a statement to the program, Warwick John says he has never deposited any money into Willmac Enterprises and to suggest otherwise is a complete fallacy.

The church also denies it has spent money on funding political advertisements.

Exclusive Brethren spokesman Phil McNaughton told reporter Quentin McDermott none of the money was used for political purposes, even though he did not know where the money came from.

"No church funds were expended on political campaigns," he said.

"I know that the church funds are audited and that no money was ever given for political purposes."

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Sweden wants to curb the influence of religion in private confessional schools in a move to prevent the spread of fundamentalism, government officials said Monday.

The new rules being drafted by the center-right government would ban religious elements in subjects other than religion, such as biology, Education Minister Jan Bjorklund told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

"Students must be protected from every form of fundamentalism," Bjorklund was quoted as saying.

His comments came after a legal dispute involving a Christian sect's efforts to start a confessional school in southern Sweden.

The Exclusive Brethren Christian Fellowship, which dismisses the theory of evolution, was granted permission by a county administrative court to start the school after it promised to follow the Swedish school plan and to welcome all students.

Today in Europe
U.S. struggles with Putin, the Russian leader who won't go awayHurdles remain on Kosovo questionTurk warns against House genocide motion
The decision was widely criticized as the group is perceived to isolate itself by enforcing a number of restrictions on its members.

There are 67 elementary schools and six high schools with a confessional orientation in Sweden, which is a highly secular country. Most of them are Christian. They are outside the public school system, but are governed by Sweden's law on education.

The government claims the law is not clear on how much religious influence is allowed in the curriculum.

The new rules, which need parliamentary approval, would be introduced in 2009, Bjorklund's spokeswoman Anna Neuman told The Associated Press.

"A student shouldn't be able to pass a natural science test by answering that God created the world. We don't think that's OK," Neuman said.

The schools would also be required to report financial donations to the authorities, she said

A senior leader of the secretive Exclusive Brethren religious sect channelled $320,000 to a company which used the money to fund pro-Liberal and anti-Greens political advertising, the ABC has reported.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating the spending before the 2004 election of $370,000 on advertising by Willmac Enterprises, set up by church member Mark William Mackenzie.

The ABC Four Corners program said it had seen evidence that between late September to late December 2004, Brethren elder and parliamentary lobbyist Warwick John deposited $320,000 in cash into Willmac's bank account.

These donations were not declared to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) by Willmac's director, Mr Mackenzie, the ABC said.

While church members around the country booked and authorised ads, Mr Mackenzie signed cheques to pay for them, the ABC reported.

Warwick John sent a statement to the program which read: "I can confirm that I have never deposited any money into Willmac Enterprises, and to suggest otherwise is a complete fallacy".

Exclusive Brethren spokesman Phil McNaughton said on the program that no church funds were expended on political campaigns.

"I know that the church funds are audited and that no money was ever given for political purposes," he told the program.

In August this year, two-and-a-half months after the AEC called in the AFP to investigate Willmac, Exclusive Brethren leader "Elect Vessel" Bruce Hales, Mr John and Mr Mackenzie met with Prime Minister John Howard in his Canberra office.

Mr Howard has defended the meeting and the sect, which he says has been victim to "villainous attacks" by Australian Greens leader Bob Brown.

The ABC also reported the Brethren was taking an active role in political campaigning as far back as the 1993 election campaign, when John Hewson was Liberal Party leader.

Asked if he had been aware the Brethren had been campaigning in support of him, Dr Hewson told the program: "No I wasn't, and they should have campaigned harder, just that little bit more. I didn't know anything about it."

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has branded the Exclusive Brethren an "extremist cult" and criticised Mr Howard for meeting with its leaders.

The sect also has been accused of running a smear campaign against New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and hiring a private detective to investigate leading members of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Exclusive Brethren members are prohibited from voting, attending university, and having TVs, radios, personal computers and mobile phones. They are also banned from contact with family members who leave the church.

Greens Leader Bob Brown has called on a Tasmanian Liberal candidate to reveal his links to the religious group, the Exclusive Brethren.

The Greens leader says Bass Liberal candidate Michael Ferguson vouched for a New South Wales elder of the Christian organisation and allowed him access to Parliament.

Senator Brown says he has no problem with the Liberal Party's connections to the group, but he wants the relationship to be made public.

"I have no trouble with people signing in folk to Parliament House but you have to vouch for them, you have to vouch for their character and you have to know who they are," he said.

"Michael Ferguson should talk about his relationship with the Exclusive Brethren elders and make it clear."

Mr Ferguson has labelled Senator Brown's comments as "perverse" and says he has signed in at least 200 people during in his time in Parliament.

"It's my job to make sure all of the community is represented not just our favourite sections," he said.

"There are no links, and I just wonder why would Senator Brown be behaving this way, it seems to me to be just pre-election smearing and I think it's very unfortunate."

A former member of the Exclusive Brethren has revealed the secretive religious sect has been transferring large sums of money across the world to fund political campaigns in Australia and the US.

In recent years Brethren leaders have met with numerous Liberal ministers, including Prime Minister John Howard.

Now ABC TV's Four Corners program has revealed that tens of thousands of dollars in Brethren cash have been transferred around the world in envelopes.

Former Brethren member Don Monday says some of the money was used to fund the 2004 election campaign of US President George W Bush.

The program also suggests the Brethren are actively lobbying for the Howard Government, although sect leader Bruce Hales has barred his followers from voting themselves.

Mr Monday says he brought up to $10,000 in cash to Australia in 2005 for distribution to the Brethren, possibly breaching Customs regulations.

"I would've known of people that said they've carried as many as 40 and 50 envelopes and some of those would've had probably as much as a thousand and to as little as $50 in them," he said.

"The Brethren would normally, on a monthly basis, give gifts to Mr Hales as well as other people in responsible positions, and that money would be carried by what we jokingly would've called the 'Brethren Express'.

"It would all be transferred in in envelopes by people who were travelling."

But Exclusive Brethren elder and spokesman Phil McNaughton denies Mr Hales has used the money to fund political campaigns.

"He would use that to distribute to the needy amongst the Brethren and for other purposes at his discretion," he said.

Mr McNaughton says he does not know just how much money has been handed out.

"In envelopes of cash are distributions of church giving, that was set on by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians," he said.

"It is the the church plate that individual churches may wish to distribute to persons engaged in the work of the glad tidings.

"It is money given on trust. It is to be spent in furthering the work of the Lord."

Two senior elders of the Exclusive Brethren sect have gained permanent access to Federal Parliament, as lobbyists, under the sponsorship of two Howard Government MPs.

The Age has discovered that Sydney-based elders Stephen Hales and Warwick John were issued lobbyists' passes after being vouched for by former minister Danna Vale and the member for the Tasmanian seat of Bass, Michael Ferguson.

Mr Hales, a Sydney businessman, is the brother of Bruce D. Hales, who leads the world-wide sect of 40,000 devotees.

The Age has also confirmed the church has retained Liberal-connected public relations firm Jackson Wells Morris to provide them with political advice and deal with "hostile media".

A Four Corners report on ABC TV tonight will reveal further details of the secretive religious sect's attempts, since 2004, to secure the election of conservative politicians world-wide - including massive flows of money, advertising and phone canvassing.

The political activism comes despite the sect's strict rules of separation from the world, which mean members do not vote in elections.

The lobbyist passes allow Mr Hales and Mr John access to the offices of ministers and backbenchers, and both attended the Brethren's controversial meeting with John Howard in his prime ministerial office in early August.

The meeting was also attended by Bruce Hales, known as the Man of God, or the Elect Vessel, and another Brethren man, Mark Mackenzie, the director of a company that funnelled $370,000 into pro-Howard advertising at the last election. That spending is now under investigation by the Australian Federal Police.

One of the Brethren lobbyists' sponsors, Ms Vale, the member for Hughes in NSW, is a key Howard backer and former minister for veterans' affairs. She has come to prominence for, among other things, her comments that Australia was becoming a Muslim nation by "aborting ourselves almost out of existence". Her spokesman said she had sponsored Mr John "because he's a constituent".

Mr Ferguson is a committed Christian who owes victory in his seat of Bass in the 2004 election to Mr Howard's pledge to save the Tasmanian forest industry. He holds it by a slender 2.7 per cent margin.

A Brethren spokesman told The Age that "many churches have members who hold lobbyists' passes for parliaments, to allow them to advocate for issues and on matters of conscience and morality".

A statement from Jackson Wells Morris said the company "has provided advice to the Brethren on how to deal with some of the issues they face and to engage with a hostile media".

"In recent years, sections of the media have subjected the Brethren to unwarranted scrutiny bordering on harassment. It has been a witch- hunt. If the Brethren had been given a fair hearing they would be much better understood, like any other church or religious organisation."

Bob Lawrence, who handles the Brethren account for the PR firm, has worked for senior ministers Helen Coonan and Joe Hockey. He also worked for Liberal Party campaign headquarters in 2004.

South Australian Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright says there is nothing sinister about a clause that allows a specific Christian sect to prevent unions from entering its work sites.

Greens MP Mark Parnell claims the Labor Party is giving special treatment to the Exclusive Brethren.

Mr Wright says the legislation has been in place for three years and there has not been a reaction to it before now.

He says the brethren has exclusive rights in regard to entry on its premises in limited circumstances.

"They don't have any lobbying powers beyond any other lobby group," he said.

"In fact, I would suggest that they probably have less power over the Government than some of the other major stakeholders, whether it be in my portfolio or other portfolio areas as well.

"I think Mr Parnell was tending to exaggerate the influence of the Brethren community."

"The Brethren Express" - on Four Corners, 8.30 pm Monday 15 October.

They don't vote and they repudiate any organised role in politics. It's God's call, they say, whether governments stand or fall.

But behind the scenes, members of the small, publicity-shy Exclusive Brethren sect have developed a political muscle that surpasses their numerical strength - and they enjoy flexing it.

In August, it was revealed that Exclusive Brethren elders had met with the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, despite earlier disturbing exposes (including on Four Corners) about how the church splits up families. The Brethren have been linked sporadically to several recent election campaigns, most notably in New Zealand.

But as Four Corners reveals, the Brethren have a vigorous and largely untold political history going back at least to 1993, when John Hewson lost the "unloseable" election to Paul Keating.

Four Corners follows the political trail of the Brethren over 14 years and spells out how in the past few years its members have ramped up campaigning, spending millions in state and federal elections and overseas, including the USA.

Players say the Brethren are a force that cannot be ignored. "The Exclusive Brethren are a real factor in changing votes," says Greens leader and Brethren adversary Bob Brown. In New Zealand, it's claimed clandestine campaigning by Brethren at one stage threatened the Government.

This investigation calls into question the Brethren's claim that political involvement is a matter for individuals. It explores how Australian election advertising costing hundreds of thousands of dollars was arranged, paid for and accounted for. In the USA, ex-Brethren tell how they were marshalled for campaigns.

But why do Brethren bother with politics at all? Four Corners looks at the conservative religious beliefs that have underpinned their recent electioneering.

Quentin McDermott's report also examines how the Australia-headquartered Brethren raise funds from abroad - a process nicknamed "the Brethren Express", as an ex-member tells it.

"The Brethren Express" - on Four Corners, 8.30 pm Monday 15 October.

This program will be repeated about 11.35 pm Tuesday 16 October; also on ABC2 at 9.30 pm Wednesday and 8 am Thursday.

National doesn’t want you to see this.

If you read five pages today, read these.

It’s the transcript of Nicky Hager’s submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on the Electoral Finance Bill.

Gems include:

“…Don Brash, John Key, Murray McCully, Gerry Brownlee were all able to use the secrecy of the situation to deny that they had know that the Exclusive Brethren were involved and that they were liaising with the National Party. They all told lies…”

And later, just in case anyone missed it, Hager repeats his point:

“…What I am absolutely sure of, what I have absolutely confident knowledge of, is that the people who the Exclusive Brethren liaised with and informed of their plans completely were the leader, Don Brash, the finance spokesperson, John Key, and the campaign manager, Steven Joyce… The subsequent denials were not correct. They were untrue.…”

 Download the full Transcript

Labor’s Wentworth candidate George Newhouse lashed out at the alleged relationship between the Exclusive Brethren and the Liberal Party during his address at the ALP policy forum on same-sex issues last week.

A leaflet had been distributed in parts of Wentworth that warned against voting Labor or Green under the banner Keep Australia Christian.

The two parties were accused of the destruction of families through supporting gay marriage and same-sex adoption, and turning a blind eye to drugs, prostitution, pornography and immigration from non-Christian countries.

Although the leaflet contains no authorisation required for political advertising, Newhouse believed the “extremist material” could be the work of the Exclusive Brethren.

He called on Wentworth MP Malcolm Turnbull to condemn the material.

“I think most residents in Wentworth would find the views espoused in this leaflet offensive,” he said.

A Brethren Church hall proposed for a small residential street in Stoke has been given the thumbs up by the city council, but the thumbs down from some neighbours.

The Nelson City Council's approval of a resource consent application by the Maitland Hall Trust to build the hall at 7 Towai St had been criticised by neighbours who fear they will be disrupted by early morning Sunday services held at the hall.

The hall would be used by between 30 and 50 parishioners for services at 6am on Sundays and 6pm on Mondays, and "occasionally" house between 70 to 100 people for services on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

The council granted the consent last week subject to conditions, including that the hall only be used for religious services.

In its decision, the council said the construction of the building and the church services were "unlikely" to have more than a minor effect on neighbours.

It also believed that screen planting and walls would ensure that noise would be "contained on the site, and will not disturb the residential amenity of the neighbourhood".

But Julie Jackson, who lives next to the site, said noise early on a Sunday morning would be disruptive in the quiet cul-de-sac.

She said she was disappointed that while the planner's report to the council had recommended imposing a condition that no church activity start before 8am on Sunday mornings, the council decision had included no such requirement.

"They've gone ahead and said yes without giving any reasons," she said.

"You really want to put it back to the council and say, `How would you feel if you had something going on at 6am on a Sunday morning next to your residential property?'."

She also believed the resource consent application should have been publicly notified, because some residents in the street still did not know about the proposed hall.

Nelson City Council applications committee chairman Ian Barker said the "small scale" operation proposed had worked well in other areas of Nelson, and the committee unanimously felt the effects of noise and traffic had been mitigated enough by the consent conditions that an 8am restriction was not needed.

Most of the parishioners lived within 250m of the site, so would walk to the church, he said.

Mr Barker said because the proposed activity was only small, staff only notified people it was thought would be affected.

The consent could be reviewed in six months' time, he said.

Extract:

The Liberal Party is extremely worried about the gay vote, especially in the seat of Wentworth, and they deserve to be worried.

As a member of the Labor Party I don’t mind saying that some liberals did attempt to raise public awareness about the discriminatory federal legislation during the life of the last parliament.

But the fact is that under John Howard’s leadership these efforts went nowhere. And there is no guarantee that these urgent reforms would be passed if the Howard Government were re-elected.

Not only has John Howard refused to back the changes recommended by the HREOC report to end discrimination, he has aligned himself with the far-Right Christian lobby and with that bigoted cult, the Exclusive Brethren. He meets with them and takes their money, and the Exclusive Brethren are already actively campaigning against me in the seat of Wentworth.

The High Court in Nelson has dismissed an appeal by Clive Allen Petrie, 72, that his health and that of his wife would suffer if his name was published.

He is accused of indecently assaulting four girls as young as five years over a 34 year period from 1951, while he was a brother of the church.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Lawyer Hamish Riddoch claims his client is the victim of a crusade against the Exclusive Brethren church by an individual who has orchestrated the complaints against him.

Heroic parents braved huge flames in frantic attempts to rescue their two-year-old daughter from their burning home.

After plucking their four-year-old son Zac to safety, Grant and Jodie Wakefield repeatedly re-entered the inferno to try to reach his younger sister Sofia.

The nightmare began for the Wakefield family about 9.20pm on Monday when a fire started in the bedroom where Sofia was sleeping.

The blaze quickly spread throughout their house in King St, Swan Hill.

After saving Zac and putting him on the nature strip, Mr Wakefield, 28, and Ms Wakefield, 24, tried desperately to reach their toddler daughter.

As they repeatedly tried to rescue Sophie, the couple were repelled by the heat and flames seared their bodies.

Neighbour Tom Smith called 000 and took blankets to the Wakefields.

It is believed emergency crews had to physically stop the seriously injured but frantic parents from re-entering the house.

Swan Hill CFA duty manager, Bill Johnstone said: "The fire was well alight when we arrived and had penetrated into the roof.

"The occupants of the house were outside and we were told their child was inside."

While watching the firefight, the couple collapsed unconscious on the nature strip from life-threatening burns.

They were taken to the Swan Hill hospital.

Soon afterwards, a burns team from the Alfred flew in to stabilise the pair before they were flown to the Alfred.

Ms Wakefield was last night in a critical condition in the Alfred's burns unit with 60 per cent burns to her body.

Mr Wakefield, an engineer, sustained 25 per cent burns to his back, chest and hands and was in a stable condition.

Mr Johnstone said Zac, who is being cared for by friends, was doing remarkably well.

"But he was certainly overwhelmed, it's a bit for a four-year-old -- for anyone really," he said.

Mr Johnstone said it was another hit to the tight-knit Swan Hill community, already stricken by the drought.

The tragedy has shaken the Exclusive Brethren Christian sect to which Mr Wakefield belongs.

Members gathered outside the family home yesterday.

Acting Det-Sgt Adam Henry, of the arson squad, said: "The parents have tried to rescue the child. It is just tragic."

Swan Hill Rural City Council mayor Gary Norton yesterday said: "We will help where we can. The whole community would be quite devastated, especially because a small child has been lost.

"Our feelings go out to the whole family. They are a very close family."

Police do not believe the fire is suspicious.