Markets 
Revelations that elders of a wealthy Christian sect secretly paid bundles of cash to far-right activists and others with fringe views for an “influence campaign” to disrupt Albanese government appearances during the federal election are a reminder that the fragile bond between religion and politics must always be kept in check.
An investigation by our reporters Sherryn Groch and Michael Bachelard has uncovered a digital trail of evidence showing the church formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren mobilised far-right figures around the country to track and heckle candidates from Labor, the Greens and independents as part of its multimillion-dollar campaign for then-Liberal leader Peter Dutton.
The rebadged Plymouth Brethren Christian Church prepares to provide evidence on Friday to a parliamentary inquiry examining the scandal, but leaked communications, insider accounts and social media footage now reveal the full extent of the Brethren’s role in the 2025 election.
The Brethren’s wider multimillion-dollar election effort for the Coalition involved members turning out to campaign undercover at polling booths in blue Liberal T-shirts. The stunts were filmed and splashed across right-wing media and social channels. Some were also shared by conservative lobby group Advance, which successfully led the “No” campaign in the Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum in 2023 and received $655,000 in political donations from Brethren-linked businessmen last year.
The Church has consistently denied any involvement by the church in the election, saying only individual parishioners campaigned, not the church.
Historically, while Brethren have refrained from voting on the grounds of a conscientious objection, believing that governance is a divine matter not to be decided by human selection, the secretive, wealthy, ultra-conservative sect is not above telling others how to vote: in 2004, it was caught spending up big in election advertising supporting conservative political parties, and played a role in John Howard’s defeat of then-Labor leader Mark Latham.
The Brethren’s latest foray into politics is another example of how the line between church and state is easily crossed, and comes as the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigates links between Liberal Party operatives, fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and Catholic Schools NSW.
The Brethren have hardly been thwarted by the continuing failure of their political zealotry.
Sources within the church say elders and ordinary members have begun shifting their allegiance to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Those with knowledge of the church’s operation warn that “the Brethren’s well-oiled influence machine” is not finished in politics yet, as an image surfaces showing a member campaigning for One Nation in Victoria last year.
The Brethren are entitled to dabble in politics, for what is parliament but a distillation of a people with many views, many faiths (or little or no faith), and all entitled to democratic representation?
But Brethren politicking certainly raises questions about transparency. We prefer the influence of religion on parliament and some parliamentarians to be an open secret instead of hiding behind a cloak of elitism, wealth and intimidation.
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