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"ADC ONLINE" - Vol.2, No.7, November 2001

An online journal of the
B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission,
presenting news and analysis of far-right
activity in Australia and the world.
ISSN 1445-0402
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Contents
* November 22 - "Martin Bryant Sorry Day"
* Forum in Sydney to "resist the New World Order"
* The far-right parties - do they really matter?


***  NOVEMBER 22 - "MARTIN BRYANT SORRY DAY"

November 22 has been designated "Martin Bryant Sorry Day" by members of the
far-right, to "apologise" to convicted mass-murderer Martin Bryant for the
massacre at Port Arthur, Tasmania, which they say he "did not commit".

This is part and parcel of the "Port Arthur Conspiracy" theory, which
suggests that the 1996 massacre of 35 people was clandestinely carried out
by Government agents to create sufficient cause for the enactment of
legislation outlawing firearms as part of the "New World Order" (NWO). In
far-right thought, the Jews are allegedly behind the NWO, using the United
Nations to impose a One World Government.

In advertisements placed in Australia's foremost racist newspaper, The
Strategy, the man behind the theory of the "Port Arthur Conspiracy", Western
Australian Joe Vialls, has called on "all responsible and caring
Australians" to forward an apology to Bryant in his prison cell on November
22, and to send a copy to their local parliamentarian.

A sample apology accompanies the advertisement. It states: "We are sorry
that the acute stress induced by this prolonged cruel and illegal
punishment, eventually forced you in desperation to plead 'guilty' to crimes
that fresh evidence conclusively prove you did not commit... We are sorry
the media vilified you from the outset, 'proving' you guilty without a shred
of evidence. We are even more sorry they indulged themselves shamelessly in
emotional social engineering techniques designed to direct mass hatred
against you. By engaging in this process they undermined national
security... May you be granted the inner strength and courage needed to cope
with the harsh conditions during your illegal incarceration, until we can
properly secure your release."


***  FORUM IN SYDNEY TO "RESIST THE NEW WORLD ORDER"

On the weekend of December 1-2, 2001, Sydney will play host to a one-off
gathering of far-right figures to discuss issues of "political formation" to
"help stoke the fires of resistance to the New World Order".

The forum’s advertising literature has stated that the event aims to "arm
rank and file people with new ideas for action" and to "provide directions
that can underpin positive political struggle" against the "New World
Order". Topics to be addressed include the rural resistance movement, "the
pattern of Australia’s Asianisation", the "Red-Brown political phenomenon",
and the growth of "movements of identity and patriotism".

Speakers at the event will include:

* Jim Saleam, the NSW leader of the neo-Nazi group National Action. Saleam
has served time in prison for fraud and for the 1989 shotgun attack on the
home of the African National Congress representative in Australia.
* Mark Wilson, the secretary of Australian Friends of Europe, which is the
Australian arm of the extreme right British National Party (BNP). Wilson
migrated to Australia in the 1980s from Britain where he had been the BNP
local organiser in Essex. He has previously spoken at forums of the
Australian League of Rights, which has touted him as an expert on "the
effects of multiculturalism in Britain".
* Welf Herfurth, the president of the One Nation Party Riverstone, NSW,
branch. He is a former executive member of Germany's most active neo-Nazi
group, the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands in Bavaria. He is also
active in the Australian League of Rights and Australian Friends of Europe.
* Leon Gregor, the NSW president of the British-Israel World Federation.
Part of the Christian Identity movement, which defines Christianity in
racial rather than religious terms, the BIWF believes that the true
descendants of the biblical Israelites are the Anglo-Saxons.


***  THE FAR-RIGHT PARTIES - DO THEY REALLY MATTER?

The Federal election saw far-right candidates stand in almost every
electorate and in the Senate. Far-right parties fielding candidates included
the Citizens Electoral Council, the Curtin Labor Alliance, the Advance
Australia Party, Australians Against Further Immigration, Tasmania First and
One Nation. Other candidates associated with racist groups stood as
Independents.

A preliminary analysis of the voting indicates that support for most of
these parties has remained fairly constant since the 1998 election, with
each garnering no more than a few thousand votes. The exception was One
Nation, the most popular far-right political force, which has halved its
voter support base since 1998.

However, one cannot dismiss such parties as inconsequential, for they have
been successful in attracting disenfranchised voters, particularly those
suffering economic hardship and social dislocation. Some far-right parties,
particularly the Citizens Electoral Council and the Curtin Labor Alliance,
use their political status to prey on the politically naïve and to raise
millions of dollars in donations. The party political system also gives
far-right parties and their racist ideas additional public prominence.

Beyond this, far-right parties, particularly One Nation, have given a public
mouthpiece to the fringe hardcore racist ideology and conspiracies
propagated by Australian and international white supremacist groups. The
ideological racism of far-right groups and the populist racism prevalent
amongst the disenfranchised, have thus found their nexus in the party
political system. For example, four One Nation candidates at the election
(see the October 2001 ADC Special Report) have been associated with an
organised racist group. The racist conspiracies of these groups have found
an outlet amongst these candidates. Denis Collins, the One Nation candidate
for the Tasmanian seat of Bass - associated with the antisemitic Citizens
Electoral Council, the militia group AUSI Freedom Scouts, and the racist
newspaper, The Strategy - recently told Australian Associated Press that he
did not deny having racist links, and used biblical texts to justify his
view that Jews controlled the world economy. At one point, he used the
phrase "synagogue of satan".


Copyright (c) 2001 B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission Inc.
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This edition of ADC ONLINE honours the late Robert Greenwood QC, the former
head of the Nazi war crimes Special Investigations Unit, for his long and
principled stand against those who perpetrate crimes against humanity.

ADC ONLINE is a publication of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission
Inc. (ADC), a national Australian organisation dedicated to researching and
combatting all forms of racism.

Prepared by Mr Benseon Apple, Director of Research & Public Affairs, with
assistance provided by Dr Rodney Gouttman, Senior Policy Analyst, and Ms
Nicole Schlesinger, Research Officer.

Technical support provided by Fluffy Spider Technologies
http://www.fluffyspider.com.au/

B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission Inc.
PO Box 450, Caulfield South, Vic 3162, Australia.
Phone 61-3-9527-1228 Fax 61-3-9525-9127
Email antidef@ozemail.com.au

Chairman: Mr Jeffrey Loewenstein
Executive Director: Mr Alan Gold
Director of Public Affairs: Mr Benseon Apple

ADC Board of Advisers:
The Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO QC DCL (pres.),
Sir Walter Campbell AC,
The Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC CH,
The Hon RJL Hawke AC,
Professor Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE,
The Rt Hon Sir Ninian Stephen KG AK GCMG GCVO KBE,
The Hon Neville Wran AC QC
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