November 29th, 2006 (EB News)
- Brethren Ads Backfired: Greens - Sydney Star Observer, Australia
The Greens have played down the effect of a conservative religious campaign on last weekend's Victorian election.
A Victorian election advertising campaign by secretive religious group Exclusive Brethren against “socially destructive policies” such as same-sex marriage had little effect on progressive parties’ vote last Saturday, according to the Greens.
Greens federal leader Bob Brown told Sydney Star Observer the advertisements in major Melbourne newspapers last week “rebounded”.
“We picked up very quickly they were Exclusive Brethren ads,” Brown said.
“I think people are fed up with that sort of extreme advertising by people who are not prepared to come out and argue their case, let alone vote.”
more >>>
November 28th, 2006 (EB News)
- Brethren trail leads to Brash says Hager - The Dominion Post, NZ
Details of leaked emails, not printed in Nicky Hager's book, cast doubt on Don Brash's claim that he never received or saw a key email from the Exclusive Brethren.
Dr Brash has said the May 24, 2005, email from Brethren member Ron Hickmott, outlining plans for the sect's $1 million election campaign backing National, was either "total fiction" or he had not received it.
He has consistently said he did not know about the Brethren's plans till August 2005.
However documents supplied to The Dominion Post by Hager, after Dr Brash's denial, suggest otherwise.
They appear to show that the original email went to Dr Brash's "Don.Brash@National.org.nz" email address.
The Brethren email was marked high importance and referred to an urgent and confidential letters attached.
It was apparently cleared by Dr Brash's aide, Bryan Sinclair, forwarding it to the then National leader, with the comment: "From the Brethren. I usually avoid tangling you up with this, but this is worth reading as it looks like $$ are involved here."
The documents show Dr Brash replying later that day: "Thanks Bryan. Yes, our friends from the Brethren bailed me up at breakfast this morning. I have forwarded this for reaction from Steven (Joyce, National's campaign manager). Don."
The letter says Mr Hickmott and another Brethren member "enjoyed your presentation this morning at the Millennium Hotel" and goes on to refer to the Brethren's April 2005 $350,000 "Wake up New Zealand" campaign attacking the Government's defence policy.
The email says that as the backers of "a very extensive election campaign ($1 million) with the sole goal of 'getting party votes for National' a meeting following on from our one last week with Steven Joyce is important".
It refers to a plan for flyers aimed at demon strating mistrust in the Labour-led Government and trust in Don Brash and a National government.
Hager's book, The Hollow Men, says Mr Hickmott sought a meeting and said he was "essentially working on our/your election campaign fulltime".
Hager said yesterday that the email had been sent by Mr Hickmott at 2.15pm on May 24, 2005.
It was forwarded to Dr Brash's work email at 4.13pm that day by Mr Sinclair - and Dr Brash acknowledged receiving it at 6.49pm, he said
"In other words, Dr Brash's main claim about the book's 'lies and inaccuracies' is not true," Hager said.
"It is inconceivable that Dr Brash would forget about a million-dollar offer to help National be elected.
"These denials are like a sequel to the story in the book, which showed the National Party staff assessing how much the media knew about its Exclusive Brethren links and devising a succession of untruthful denials to try to wriggle out of responsibility."
Dr Brash has dismissed the book's contents as a "tissue of lies".
The original Brethren letter was also addressed to National's new leader John Key, who has denied receiving it.
"I don't believe I ever received that email, and I have no record of receiving it. In my opinion that may indicate it was sent to the wrong address," he said.
"Don has always maintained he never received the email, and I have no reason to doubt him."
more >>> - The Exclusive Brethren Advertisement in Victoria:
Authorized by: Ernest Morren 3 Linmax Crt. Point Cool 3028
November 26th, 2006 (EB News)
- How the election was lost - NZ Herald, NZ
Nicky Hager's controversial new book The Hollow Men digs into the mire of New Zealand party politics, uncovering how National party spin doctors brought Don Brash within a whisker of becoming prime minister. Here are some of its highlights:
Chapter 1
The Path of Principle Summary:
Lists the National Party's contacts with the elusive Exclusive Brethren and the knowledge leader Don Brash had of their advertising campaigns.
Reddest Faces:
An email from Brash's chief of staff Richard Long to Brash, Gerry Brownlee and other MPs in April 2005 stated the Brethren had "agreed today to publicly take ownership of the advertising) campaign, to avoid conspiracy theories and to prevent the finger being pointed at us".
In May, an email from Exclusive Brethren organiser Ron Hickmott to Brash and John Key talks about spending $1m to get party votes for National. "Our campaign (a total of seven nationally distributed flyers) is direct and simple: - It creates and demonstrates MISTRUST in the current Government. It builds TRUST in a DON BRASH led National Government." Brash later denies knowing who produced the flyers.
Hager says: "When Don Brash said 'I am not a liar' on national television... the ghost of Richard I-am-not-a-crook Nixon must have been looking on approvingly."
more >>> - Brownlee Says He Went Willingly - Newswire, NZ
Speaking at the media conference he called to announce he will not be seeking re-election as deputy, he says Nicky Hager’s book The Hollow Men has helped the National Party end continued speculation over its association with the Exclusive Brethren church.
more >>> - Brash a man who failed to live up to his name - NZ Herald, NZ
It seems ridiculous that this friendly, slightly bumbling banker could have deceived us about his connections with the wacky Exclusive Brethren church.
more >>>
And the latest casualty:
... finally, how could we resist?
November 25th, 2006 (EB News)
- Not just Brash: Howard in Australia linked to Exclusive Brethren - Geekzone, NZ
While Don Brash's resignation didn't on the whole get much media attention over in Australia, this AAP report published in the Age says John Howard has met with the Exclusive Brethren as well:
But Greens leader Bob Brown says the real reason for Mr Brash's
resignation is revelations of his links to the shadowy Brethren.
"It took Mr Howard a year to admit he had met with the Exclusive Brethren,
but he won't give the details," Senator Brown said tonight.
The BBC also focuses on the EBs as the main reason for Brash resigning and also provides some details about the sect itself. For being exclusive to the point of not voting in elections, the EBs seem to be very busy trying to influence politics.
It's not just in this part of the world that the EBs are active. During the last Swedish election, the EBs funded a flyer and advertising campaign to the tune of several million Swedish crowns. The campaign was run out of Liverpool, UK, and supported the centre-right Alliance for Sweden coalition, which won a majority in the election against the ruling social democrats or Labour party.
The Alliance for Sweden comprises the conservatives (Moderaterna), centrists (Centerpartiet), liberals (Folkpartiet) and christian democrats, but the parties say they didn't receive money from the EBs. While the centrists, liberals and christian democrats distance themselves from the EBs and what the sect stands for, the conservatives in Sweden take a softer line and according to their party secretary, Sven Otto Littorin, appreciate the support.
more >>>
November 24th, 2006 (EB News)
- Book claims English harsh critic of colleagues - Radio New Zealand
The book alleges that the party's leadership and top advisers were in discussions with the Exclusive Brethren as early as April last year.
It cites an email from former Chief of Staff Richard Long to Dr Brash, deputy leader Gerry Brownlee and other senior MPs about informing the caucus of a Brethren advertising campaign on defence policy.
The book claims Mr Long had been told by the Brethren that they would take ownership of the campaign to avoid conspiracy theories and to prevent quote "the finger being pointed at us".
In the email Mr Long offered a strategy if MPs were questioned about it - which centred on their saying it was a church campaign and not sponsored by National. Other claims
The book also says that in May 2005 an Exclusive Brethren member from Rangiora, Ron Hickmott, wrote to Dr Brash and MP John Key, telling them they had $1 million to spend on getting votes for National and requesting a meeting.
It also claims that three months before the election the party's Napier campaign manager, Simon Lusk, and campaign strategist Bryan Sinclair were emailing each other about the Exclusive Brethren campaign against the Greens in Tasmania.
more >>> - Stephen Joyce Talks Exclusive Brethren On RNZ - Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand’s Mary Wilson: The Exclusive Brethren thought they were doing you a favour its quite clear from their communication with you.
National Party Campaign Manager Stephen Joyce: I am sure they thought they were doing us a favour a number of times, and I am sure other people have come to the view that what they thought was favours in many situations was actually less of a favour in its outturn. You assume that we have control over the exclusive Brethren…
Stephen Joyce: … and I can assure you that I certainly as campaign manager never in any stage of the process had any control over the Exclusive Brethren.
more >>> - Listen to the full 'Hollow Men' radio interview (Click on 'Hollow Men' link)
- Brethren intervene in Aussie state politics - The Age
Radical sect the Exclusive Brethren has intervened in Australia in the Victoria state election campaign, buying large newspaper advertisements to decry parties with "radical and extreme policies".
Authorised by Brethren member Ernest Morren, advertisements in The Age and the Herald Sun yesterday were headed "Warning: the future of Victoria is at stake on Saturday". The ad also appears in The Age on Page 5 today.
While the Victorian newspaper advertisements mention no party by name, they are clearly aimed at the Greens, warning that "persons promoting radical and extreme policies could gain control of the upper house" in Victoria. The radical policies named include those allegedly promoting drug use, same-sex marriages and extreme social policies, and opposing new dams.
"Do you want our young people subjected to homosexual education programs?" the advertisements ask. "Don't take a risk with Victoria's future."
Though they do not vote, the Exclusive Brethren members have recently begun advertising in state and federal elections in Australia and internationally to support conservative parties and oppose the Greens.
The Age could not contact Mr Morren last night but has confirmed with former Brethren members that he is a member.
The property listed on the authorisation is not his address, but is the factory of a company, Production Packaging Innovations, owned by senior Brethren member Barry Joyce.
Greens national leader Bob Brown said: "If the ad is coming from the Exclusive Brethren, they should identify themselves. We have no trouble with people advertising, or the Exclusive Brethren entering the campaign ? but it should say so."
When Brethren members have been quizzed in the past about political campaigning, they have claimed they are acting as individuals, not as members of the sect, but former Brethren say any decision must be cleared by sect leaders.
The Age reported last month that the Brethren were about to make their debut in Victorian politics, after they held a successful meeting with Nationals leader Peter Ryan.
After a political furore, Mr Ryan distanced himself from the group, saying he would accept no donations or help from it.
more >>>
November 23rd, 2006 (EB News)
- Hager Book: Brash knew of Brethren campaign - NZ Herald, NZ
Leading National Party figures received correspondence in May 2005 telling them the Exclusive Brethren were planning a major election pamphlet campaign, investigative author Nicky Hager's new book says.
It is one of several claims in The Hollow Men, released today after an injunction covering outgoing National leader Don Brash's stolen emails was lifted.
The book, subtitled A Study in the Politics of Deception, contains several of those emails.
Mr Hager today said a key claim he could now reveal was that on May 24 the Brethren put their plans for a $1 million campaign in writing to Dr Brash and National's finance spokesman John Key.
"They said it was solely for the purpose of getting party votes for National, but they also said there were two parts to this 'building mistrust in the Government' and 'building trust in a Brash-led government'," Mr Hager told reporters.
Dr Brash has said the first he knew of a Brethren pamphlet campaign was in August last year.
Mr Hager said Dr Brash himself forwarded the email to then campaign manager Stephen Joyce.
In his opening chapter The Path of Principle, Hager writes that National and the Exclusive Brethren's first interaction was on April 5, 2005, at a National Campaign Strategy Meeting.
"One of the items on the agenda that Tuesday was the bland-sounding 'Outside Groups - Defence and Education'... Unbeknown to the rest of New Zealand, a large anonymously funded advertising campaign was scheduled to begin at the end of that week - early April 2005 - stridently attacking Labour's defence and anti-nuclear policies..."
The campaign, which consisted of newspaper advertisements and about a million pamphlets distributed throughout the country, was funded by the Exclusive Brethren and cost $350,000.
According to Hager, chief of staff Richard Long emailed Brash on the morning of the strategy meeting, saying: "It might pay to know that the Brethren advertising campaign to repair defence links (bring back the ships) will start this Friday."
After Dr Brash dropped his support for the Civil Union Bill, Hager alleges contact between National and the Exclusive Brethren became increasingly frequent and that on February 14, 2005, Brash met with Doug Watt and other Brethren Church members in his parliamentary office.
From this time onwards, Hager writes that "Exclusive Brethren representatives and Brash would snatch opportunities for meetings as he was travelling and electioneering."
Though Hager notes some National Party MPs had "misgivings about the Exclusive Brethren support," they were largely ignored.
Throughout May 2005, Hager says that National and the Exclusive Brethren held a series of discussions over the planned election advertising. On May 24, Ron Hickmott of the Exclusive Brethren wrote to Brash and finance spokesman John Key, reminding them they were the backers of the "Wake Up NZ" campaign and that it was important that they met to discuss "a very extensive election campaign ($1,000,000) with the sole goal of "Getting Party Votes for National".
"Our campaign (a total of seven nationally distributed flyers) is direct and simple: - It creates and demonstrates MISTRUST in the current Government. It builds TRUST in a DON BRASH led National Government."
The letter arrived nearly four months before the election and Hager alleges that the Exclusive Brethren continued to discuss their plans with National throughout June.
In June 2005, National's Napier electorate campaign manager Simon Lusk emailed Brash's assistant Bryan Sinclair, writing: "Some of the ads we were discussing in Napier were shown to a selection of MPs yesterday."
Hager says these documents confirm that "months before the election campaign, National Party MPs and staff - who would later earnestly deny any knowledge - were fully aware of the Exclusive Brethren advertising campaign plans and that at least some MPs had the seen the draft publications."
more >>> - Sect at centre of NZ political storm - BBC News, UK
The resignation of New Zealand's main opposition leader Don Brash on Thursday has again thrown the spotlight on a secretive Christian sect known as the Exclusive Brethren.
The group numbers only a few thousand people in New Zealand, and its members are not allowed to vote in elections.
Yet they have made headlines over allegations of murky political lobbying tactics in what began as a row over spending by political parties during the 2005 election.
The Exclusive Brethren has been accused of pouring large amounts of money - reportedly close to the election budget allowed by a political party - into a clandestine publicity campaign that attacked left-wing parties and urged voters to take a moral, conservative line.
The group was then accused of seeking to influence post-election negotiations by aggressively lobbying minor political parties to form a coalition with Mr Brash's centre-right National party.
Most disturbingly, private detectives claimed they were hired by the group to dig up dirt on the private lives of senior politicians in the Labour party, including the Prime Minister Helen Clark and her husband.
The reclusive Exclusive Brethren - which shuns contact with the media - has said very little against the allegations, except to claim that any campaign literature supporting conservative policies or the hiring of detectives was the work of individuals, not the group.
Don Brash initially denied any knowledge of the group's election pamphlet, but later admitted meeting members of the group both before and after the election.
His resignation came days after he sought an injunction to prevent the publication of emails he said were stolen from his computer.
This injunction resulted in halting the publication of a book, The Hollow Men, which claims to expose the inner workings of the National Party, including its links with the Exclusive Brethren.
Author Nicky Hager says he accepts Don Brash's word that he did not know the injunction would have an impact on his book's publication - but does not believe it played no part in his resignation.
The book, he says, contains documentary proof - provided by disgruntled members of the National Party - of secret alliances with right-wing groups such as the Exclusive Brethren and of broken election spending rules.
"The book is about the gap between what the electorate was told during and after the election and what was going on behind the scenes," he said.
Business interests
So who exactly are the Exclusive Brethren?
The group has its roots in the Plymouth Brethren - an evangelical movement that began in Ireland in the late 1820s before splitting into two main branches, the Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren.
The Exclusive Brethren are thought to number around 40,000 worldwide, and are headed by a Sydney businessman, Bruce Hales, who is called the Elect Vessel and the Man of God.
As their name suggests, the group practices a strict separation from the world, generally associating only with each other and avoiding outside influences such as TV and the internet.
But despite this, members have earned a reputation for good business skills and a low rate of dependency on state welfare schemes.
Their businesses are mainly linked to agriculture, horticulture and transport.
Peter Lineham, a religious history expert at Auckland's Massey University who has relatives who are members of the Brethren, says it is their business interests, as much as their religious beliefs, that would be a motivating factor behind any move towards political lobbying.
Like all small business people, they need a world of de-regulation and lower taxes, he says, adding that their interests in the agricultural sector would naturally pit them against the Greens.
"Since they can't vote - and their numbers wouldn't influence the outcome anyway - they are seeking to influence the election in other ways," Mr Lineham says.
Part of the controversy arises from the fact that the leaflet campaign they are said to have orchestrated before the 2005 election looked and read like National party literature, but there was no indication of who had originated the material.
Peter Lineham believes the storm has been fuelled by the fact that the group did not publicly defend itself.
"What the Exclusive Brethren did during the election campaign was not unlawful. But I think the fact that they will not talk back has allowed the election-spending debate to be moved into different territory."
Other countries
Marion Maddox, a religious and politics expert at Victoria University in Wellington, says the Exclusive Brethren's involvement became a "noose around the neck" of the National party.
But the group's involvement in politics is nothing new, she adds.
"They took out newspaper adverts supporting [Australian Prime Minister] John Howard and also ran adverts in state newspapers. None of it was picked up until after the election," she says.
In fact, it appears the Exclusive Brethren has also been involved in political campaigning in the US, Canada and Sweden - other countries where it has significant numbers of members.
Australia's Green Party accused the group of carrying out a campaign that included an anti-gay agenda during state elections in Tasmania in March.
It has also warned that the same thing could happen in forthcoming elections in Victoria - due to take place on Saturday - and in New South Wales next March, and called for a Senate investigation into the group which was turned down.
But the mood in New Zealand at least has turned against them.
"There is not a lot of sympathy for the Exclusive Brethren here," Peter Lineham says.
more >>> - Sect at centre of NZ political storm - PDF Version
- Exclusive Brethren sect target Greens - The Age, Australia
RADICAL sect the Exclusive Brethren has intervened in the state election campaign, buying large newspaper advertisements to decry parties with "radical and extreme policies".
Authorised by Brethren member Ernest Morren, advertisements in The Age and the Herald Sun yesterday were headed "Warning: the future of Victoria is at stake on Saturday". The ad also appears in The Age on Page 5 today.
The move came as New Zealand Opposition Leader Donald Brash resigned amid claims he sought to cover up a book detailing links between his conservative National Party and the contentious sect.
While the Victorian newspaper advertisements mention no party by name, they are clearly aimed at the Greens, warning that "persons promoting radical and extreme policies could gain control of the upper house" in Victoria. The radical policies named include those allegedly promoting drug use, same-sex marriages and extreme social policies, and opposing new dams.
"Do you want our young people subjected to homosexual education programs?" the advertisements ask. "Don't take a risk with Victoria's future."
Though they do not vote, the Exclusive Brethren members have recently begun advertising in state and federal elections in Australia and internationally to support conservative parties and oppose the Greens.
The Age could not contact Mr Morren last night but has confirmed with former Brethren members that he is a member.
The property listed on the authorisation is not his address, but is the factory of a company, Production Packaging Innovations, owned by senior Brethren member Barry Joyce.
Greens national leader Bob Brown said: "If the ad is coming from the Exclusive Brethren, they should identify themselves. We have no trouble with people advertising, or the Exclusive Brethren entering the campaign … but it should say so."
When Brethren members have been quizzed in the past about political campaigning, they have claimed they are acting as individuals, not as members of the sect, but former Brethren say any decision must be cleared by sect leaders.
The Age reported last month that the Brethren were about to make their debut in Victorian politics, after they held a successful meeting with Nationals leader Peter Ryan.
After a political furore, Mr Ryan distanced himself from the group, saying he would accept no donations or help from it.
In New Zealand the controversy started last week when Dr Brash, leader of the National Party for three years, obtained an injunction stopping publication of emails to and from his office that had been leaked.
The injunction prevented the release of investigative journalist Nicky Hager's much-anticipated "expose" of the National Party, and was attacked by the ruling Labour Party as "cynical".
Hager's book, The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception, will claim that Dr Brash misled the public about the party's links to the Exclusive Brethren and US neo-cons, and that the party broke election spending laws.
The Brethren have attracted criticism for their strict separatist codes and secretive campaigning on issues including abortion and gay rights.
Dr Brash denies the injunction was aimed at the book, claiming that he had no knowledge of the book at the time he obtained the order.
Announcing his resignation yesterday, he said it was leadership speculation that had led to it, not the book. He slammed Hager's claims, but said he would move to allow the book's publication.
"That the National Party is in some way beholden or linked or in cahoots with the neo-conservatives in the United States is absolute crap. That we've got funding from the Exclusive Brethren is absolute crap. That we broke election spending rules is absolute crap," he said.
more >>> - Exclusive Brethren sect target Greens - PDF Version
- 'Brethren behind ad attack on Greens' - The Australian, Australia
FEDERAL Greens leader Bob Brown accused the secretive Exclusive Brethren sect last night of funding newspaper advertisements designed to undermine the minor party's chances at tomorrow's Victorian election.
The ads, which ran in two Melbourne newspapers yesterday, carry a "warning" headline and declare that "persons promoting radical and extreme policies" could gain control of the state's upper house.
In an apparent reference to the Greens, the ads urge voters to oppose policies that would expose "young people to homosexual education programs".
They are authorised by Ernest Morren, and carry an address that Senator Brown said was linked to the Exclusive Brethren.
"My information is the ads have come from Exclusive Brethren connections and I call on the Brethren to declare their hand," he told The Australian.
"On the very day the Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand has resigned over allegations of his connections with the Exclusive Brethren ... if the Exclusive Brethren are involved in this advertising, they should say so."
Victorian Nationals leader Peter Ryan has admitted to meeting members of the sect but denied being offered money by the group. Sect members endorsed several Nationals policies.
The sect's members do not vote in elections, as they assert that governments are chosen by God. However, it has been accused of spending thousands of dollars during election campaigns on advertisements designed to undermine Labor and the Greens.
Yesterday's ads called on voters to "reject socially destructive policies" including same-sex marriage and injecting rooms.
"Do you want our young people subjected to homosexual education programs?" it asks. "Consider the impact on their health, safety and their future. Remember our youth are Victoria's potential."
Attacking same-sex marriages, the ads say "the marriage institution relates to the union of man and woman". "The future prosperity of Victoria cannot depend on persons who would attack the traditional value of marriage".
Senator Brown said he did not object to the Exclusive Brethren placings ads, but it should be upfront if it was responsible. "In an election campaign like this, the public have a right to know who is placing the ads and why," he said.
more >>>
November 22nd, 2006 (EB News)
Don Brash: "I don't think I have ever had an email from the Exclusive Brethren."
- Don Brash's resignation statement - NZ Herald
"From what little I've learnt about the contents of Mr Hager's book from media comment, I utterly reject also his latest attempt to discredit the National Party and me. It's simply nonsense to suggest that the National Party was, or is, under the influence of American neoconservatives; or received funding from the Exclusive Brethren; or broke election spending rules ..."
more >>> - Don Brash has resigned as National Party leader - The Dominion Post, NZ
Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen said today that Brash's resignation was inevitable
"Dr Brash's resignation was inevitable. But it solves little. By all accounts Mr Key, the likely successor, was deeply involved in all the events that have eventually led to Dr Brash's downfall.
"In particular, we all await with interest Mr Hager's book to see the role Mr Key played with respect to the Exclusive Brethren. It is also likely to reveal Mr Key's central role in National's hidden policy agenda at the behest of the Business Roundtable and its associates.
more >>> - New leader not soon enough for Nats - The Dominion Post, NZ
But he is also teasing links to even stranger groups than the Exclusive Brethren, and a much closer and more extensive relationship with the latter than has previously been revealed - and those links were National and Dr Brash's Achilles heel in 2005.
Longer term, National should worry about the damage to the party's reputation from the book, specifically that it operates with a secret agenda.
more >>>
November 21st, 2006 (EB News)
- Brash seeks legal advice on injuncted book (The Hollow Men) - NZ Herald
Hager said his book would show Dr Brash worked with the Exclusive Brethren, the secretive sect which ran an initially covert campaign against Labour at the last election, for longer than he had admitted.
It would also show that leadership contender John Key knew about the Brethren's campaign, despite his denials, Hager said.
Mr Key said Hager was wrong. He had only limited contact with the sect and did not know about its campaigning.
Hager said his book provided "undeniable evidence" that everything Dr Brash said about the Exclusive Brethren was untrue.
"He was completely aware and well-informed and in discussion with them for many months before the election."
Dr Brash had known at least four months before the election about the seven pamphlets the Brethren had circulated around the country.
Dr Brash said to the best of his recollection, he heard about the pamphlets only one month before the election.
He said he never saw any emails from the Exclusive Brethren before the election.
Hager also said election spending issues was also covered in his book.
>>> More
November 15th, 2006 (EB News)
We have just received the transcript of the Dateline TV program that aired earlier in Australia.Politics, Pamphlets and Prayers
They've also been connected with a campaign for John Howard's re-election in Bennelong, his Sydney electorate. "We don't run a police state in this country," the PM has said. "Unless people are an unlawful organisation, they are entitled to meet with the Government. I've met a lot more fanatical people in my life than the Exclusive Brethren," he added. Well, you make up your own mind. Here's Chris Hammer.
Earlier this year John Howard acknowledged that he'd met with members of the Exclusive Brethren, an ultra-conservative Christian group described by some observers as "a moralistic sect". The group which bars their members from voting in elections, the results of which they say are ordained by God - have been accused of campaigning against the likes of the Greens and the Labour Party both here and in New Zealand. 
REPORTER: Chris HammerANDREW WILKIE: And for those of you who're wondering about voting for the Greens and wondering about...
The federal election, October 2004.
ANDREW WILKIE: I'd remind you that the Greens are now polling.
Intelligence community whistleblower Andrew Wilkie is running as a Greens candidate in John Howard's seat of Bennelong on Sydney's genteel lower north shore.
ANDREW WILKIE: Questions? Comments? Feel free to stand up and say what you want.
But, as he finds out, it's not always so genteel. He's about to meet members of the Exclusive Brethren.
BRETHREN MEMBER: Can you tell us something about yourself - your marital status, your religion, your family, your background?
ANDREW WILKIE: There was a large group of young men who were very disruptive, very threatening, very aggressive. They disrupted the meeting. We all felt threatened enough that we made a point of leaving the meeting in groups, not wanting to be outside alone. There was no violence, but, as you know, people can behave in certain ways that leave you feeling physically threatened.
Andrew Wilkie says Brethren members ran anti-Greens ads in the local press and letter-boxed the electorate. Mr Wilkie says the ads were misleading, and those funding them were not properly identified.
ANDREW WILKIE: The point here is not whether a religious group was running a political campaign, the point here is that a religious group was clearly crossing the line between acceptable behaviour and unacceptable behaviour.
When I try to film a Brethren church in Sydney, I experience what Andrew Wilkie is talking about. Despite the fact I'm on a public street, I'm met with aggression.
BRETHREN MEMBER: Now, just stand here and witness because we're going to have a real brawl with this bloke. Yeah, OK, start taking photos of him.
REPORTER: Please do.
The Exclusive Brethren like to keep to themselves and clearly don't welcome scrutiny.
BRETHREN MEMBER: You're infringing on their right to come in here.
REPORTER: Look, I'm not infringing on any rights.
BRETHREN MEMBER: Yes, you are.
REPORTER: Look, you've called the police. The police will be here in a minute. They'll tell you what the law is.
BRETHREN MEMBER: Well, we're just asking you to please leave us alone because we don't want to have you here.
The Brethren believe in an apocalyptic end to the world - the Rapture - when they alone will be saved by Christ's second coming. They don't watch television, read novels, listen to the radio or go to university. They don't eat, drink or socialise with outsiders. And they certainly don't vote. The anonymity of this church building is typical - no identifying signs or emblems, a fence to shut out outsiders. For 150 years the Brethren have lived a quiet life in parallel to the rest of society. That is, until now.
BRETHREN MEMBER: And he's outside right now photographing us. He's actually on our property.
Now, many Australians will never have heard of the Exclusive Brethren, let alone any political activities associated with the church. But across the Tasman, here in New Zealand, it's been big news. Indeed, the Labour Government here has accused the Brethren of engaging in political skulduggery and has even floated the idea of changing the law to place greater controls on the church.
These pamphlets appeared in New Zealand letterboxes during last year's election campaign. They're highly critical of Labour, and especially of the Greens, but some of the authorising addresses were found to be misleading. And because they don't directly advocate a vote for the conservative National Party, they circumvent electoral laws that cap the amount political parties can spend on advertising.PETER HODGSON, NZ CABINET MINISTER: It became clear that the pamphlets were, first of all, factually wrong, so they told lies. These are not to do with opinions, these are to do with facts, and secondly, they were designed to deliver a change of government, because they were directed at the Labour Party and Greens.
The Brethren's connection with the pamphlets was exposed in the final weeks of the election. National Party leader Don Brash dodged questions about the pamphlets.
REPORTER: Did they tell you about their plans for the pamphlet drop? Did they tell you anything about that?
DON BRASH: Thanks.
The next day he conceded he did have advance knowledge of the letter-boxing campaign.
DON BRASH: The Exclusive Brethren have told me some time back that they were thoroughly fed up with this government and they would be distributing some pamphlets.
EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN MEMBER: We're fundamentalist Christians. We seek to live our life by the Bible.
Seven Brethren members held a press conference to defend their actions.
EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN MEMBER: We follow and we are influenced by our Christian beliefs but it is not an Exclusive Brethren church initiative.
A gleeful New Zealand media dubbed the church leaders 'the Secret Seven'.
EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN MEMBER: We hold government to be ordained by God, and governments are raised up and also, might I add, dismissed by God.
PETER HODGSON: They bent the electoral laws so overtly that we will now have to change those laws.
Pete Hodgson says the Brethren spent $1.2 million on the campaign - 10 times more than any other independent group - and more than half the total cap any one party was allowed to spend.
PETER HODGSON: There has never been third party financing of that ilk in New Zealand electoral history - nothing like it.
Then, in September this year, a new scandal broke in New Zealand. It was revealed a Brethren member had hired private detectives to dig dirt on senior Labour figures.
WAYNE ILDOUR, PRIVATE DETECTIVE: I was asked to make inquiries into unlawful activities of the government, the Labour Party in general, to find out what I could and report back. It relates to the Prime Minister and some of the information relates to her husband.
HELEN CLARK, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: The rumours put in the public arena are vile, baseless lies.
A furious Prime Minister Helen Clark accused the Exclusive Brethren of participating in a smear campaign alleging her husband was a homosexual.
PETER HODGSON: mean, that is simply creepy - to know that our homes and families were under surveillance because the Exclusive Brethren wanted them to be.
So what's going on inside Brethren churches like this one? Why have members of a sect that has removed itself from society for 150 years - including banning voting - suddenly plunged head-long into politics? So I come here, to Auckland's Massey University, to find out why politics, and why now. Here I meet Associate Professor Peter Lineham - himself raised within the wider Brethren community.
PETER LINEHAM, ASSOC. PROFESSOR, MASSEY UNIVERSITY: Well, it looks as though the Exclusive Brethren in some sense believe that the government of Bush and Howard and the like can appropriately protect their interests and the interests of Christendom, and only after that will there be the turmoil that will lead to the Rapture and the end of the world.
REPORTER: So George Bush and John Howard, in their eyes, are delaying the end of the world?
PETER LINEHAM: Yes, George Bush and John Howard in some sense fulfil God's purposes.
REPORTER: And alternately they'd see Labour and especially the Greens as perhaps accelerating the end of the world?
PETER LINEHAM: Yes, very much so. I have it on pretty good authority that Exclusive Brethren throughout the world are fulminating about Greens policies which they see Greens as perfidious, they see them as evil in their very essence.
Well, if the Greens are evil, meet the 'antichrist'.
SENATOR BOB BROWN, LEADER, AUSTRALIAN GREENS: The elders of the sect told me in this room that John Howard was the right, that is the righteous, leader of this country.
REPORTER: But what's wrong with that? What's wrong with the Brethren being involved in politics?
BOB BROWN: There's nothing wrong with any group becoming involved in politics and we welcome Christian, Muslim and other groups becoming involved, but the Exclusive Brethren are different - they're secretive, they're sneaky, they lie to the electorate, which has a right to be correctly informed on the way to the ballot box.
During the Tasmanian State election earlier this year, Brethren members wearing masks hauled anti-Green slogans through the streets of Hobart. And during the 2004 federal election they letter-boxed the State with these anti-Green pamphlets. They are, in many ways, identical to these pamphlets that almost delivered power to the National Party in New Zealand the next year.
PETER LINEHAM: This is a very surprising change of outlook for the Exclusive Brethren who would normally have had nothing to do with these concerns.
Peter Lineham says in recent years Brethren members have also been politically active in the United States, Canada and Sweden.
PETER LINEHAM: We can be absolutely confident that no step taken by the Exclusive Brethren in any part of the world would have been done without consultation beyond that. The whole nature of the Brethren, going right back through their whole history, involves that no group can act in isolation from other groups.
This is the Sydney business of Bruce Hales - the worldwide leader of the Exclusive Brethren. It was after his elevation in 2002 that Brethren members stepped up their political activity. John Howard and Peter Costello acknowledge they've met with Brethren leaders - and Brethren members financed this ad supporting John Howard at the last election. It begs the question - how much of its political agenda has the Brethren been able to achieve in Australia? This is an amendment to South Australia's industrial laws passed last year, granting Brethren businesses exemption from union visits. It's a similar story federally.
SENATOR BOB BROWN: The industrial relations legislation which the Howard Government put through the Parliament has an exclusion clause for the Exclusive Brethren, and they've been able to register 30 of their workplaces in Australia as a no-go zone for unions.
Dateline contacted the Brethren leadership in Sydney requesting an interview and faxing some preliminary questions. A week later we received a solicitor's letter on behalf of the Brethren, stating: "the Exclusive Brethren did not spend any amount whatsoever in newspaper advertisements and pamphlets in last year's New Zealand election, nor did it finance any anti-Green material in this year's Tasmanian State election."
The letter also refers to the incident when I was accosted while filming on public property outside the Brethren Church. "I am instructed that if there is any repetition of this conduct, I am to seek appropriate relief from the Court against you personally and SBS. This includes...applications for apprehended violence orders and an application for a restraining order..."
Ngaire Thomas knows all about the Exclusive Brethren. She wrote a book detailing her years as a church member back before she was excommunicated. Now she's free to travel in her campervan, and indulge in other once-forbidden 'sins' - like owning a pet and listening to the radio.NGAIRE THOMAS: I just love doing all the things I wasn't allowed to do before. Freedom to make choices is an amazing thing, and once you've got that freedom, you don't want to forfeit it, you don't want to give it up for anything.
Ngaire believes the Brethren leadership is now setting up new financial structures to help fund its political activities.
NGAIRE THOMAS: I spoke to a Brethren some time ago who told me he had a fax machine. And I said to him "I thought you weren't supposed to have fax machines?" And he said, "I don't own it - I rent it off the National Office Assist".
Ngaire has obtained this confidential document detailing the workings of the Brethren's National Office Assist. It's signed by Bruce Hales and other members of his inner circle. It clearly states one of its aims is to make money. "This initiative will help to provide for the future financial needs of the testimony..." As well as renting equipment to Brethren businesses, National Office Assist will: "provide confidential bookkeeping and accounting services... without reliance on unsatisfactory worldly subcontract services."
National Office Assist is co-located with the office equipment supply business of Exclusive Brethren leader Bruce Hales. It would enable the Brethren leadership to know exactly how much money each Brethren business is making and, presumably, what size of donations they can afford.CHRISTINE MILNE, GREEN SENATOR: And Mr Hales has the capability of receiving automatic admission to the board.
Greens Senator Christine Milne has raised the power of Bruce Hales and the role of National Office Assist in the Senate.
CHRISTINE MILNE: Mr Hales already seems to have ultimate authority in possibly hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of Exclusive Brethren companies, charities, trusts and enterprises on a worldwide basis. We now have a new initiative called the National Office Assist, which seems to be a global fiscal structure that controls the finances of all Exclusive Brethren businesses.
REPORTER: What sort of money are you talking about here?
NGAIRE THOMAS: Billions.
REPORTER: Billions? Billions of dollars?
NGAIRE THOMAS: Yeah, worldwide, that is.
REPORTER: Is there any evidence of that? How do you come to that number?
NGAIRE THOMAS: No, I don't have hard evidence of it, but I can do my maths. I'm not too bad at adding things up.
Reporter/Camera:
CHRIS HAMMER
Researchers:
MELANIE MORRISON, COLIN COSIER
Editor:
ROWAN TUCKER-EVANS
Executive Producer:
MIKE CAREY
November 13th, 2006 (EB News)
We have received advance publicity material for a new TV program scheduled for broadcast Wednesday, November 15th. The publicity release material makes interesting reading:
Date Issued: November 13
DATELINE
EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN
Wednesday 15 November
8:30pm
On SBS Television Wednesday 15, November at 8:30pm DATELINE reporter Chris Hammer investigates the little known religious sect Exclusive Brethren and their increasing political involvement in Australia and New Zealand.
While Brethren leaders officially deny political activity, saying it is the work of individual members, Hammer’s investigation reveals substantial spending on campaigns in Tasmanian and the last New Zealand elections.
New Zealand Cabinet minister, Peter Hodgson, tells Hammer the Brethren spent ten times more than any other independent group on a campaign which featured anti -Labour Party and anti Green Party advertising.
“There has never been third party financing of that ilk in New Zealand electoral history - nothing like it”, he said.
Meanwhile, a furious Prime Minister Helen Clark accused the Exclusive Brethren of participating in a smear campaign alleging her husband was a homosexual. It was later revealed that a private detective had been investigating individuals in the government.
“I mean this is simply creepy. To know that our homes and families were under surveillance because the Exclusive Bretheren wanted them to be,” says Peter Hodgson.
During the Tasmanian State election earlier this year, Brethren members wearing bizarre masks hauled anti-Green Party slogans through the streets of Hobart. Their pamphlets closely resembled those distributed in New Zealand.
In the 2004 Federal election campaign, Exclusive Brethren members attended a local Greens candidate’s meeting in Sydney’s lower north shore, leaving those at the meeting feeling physically threatened.
“The point here is not that a religious group was running a campaign, the point here is that a religious group was clearly crossing the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.” - Andrew Wilkie, Greens Candidate.
Chris Hammer was accosted aggressively when he tried to film at a Brethren church in Sydney. The Brethren don’t watch television, listen to the radio, attend university or allow members to vote.
For further information or an interview with Chris Hammer please contact Publicist Myka Hoffman on (02) 9430 3784 or myka.hoffman@sbs.com.au 