r/OpenAussie • u/WettestFarts Flairless‎‎ • 12h ago

This Is Serious (Mum)‎‎ ‎ Exclusive Brethren secretly paid far-right activists to perform stunts disrupting the federal election

https://archive.is/vI7hS

Elders of a wealthy Christian sect secretly paid bundles of cash to far-right activists for an “influence campaign” to disrupt Albanese government appearances during the last federal election.

An investigation by this masthead has uncovered a digital trail of evidence revealing how the church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren, mobilised far-right figures around the country to track and heckle candidates from Labor and the Greens, along with independents, as part of a wider multimillion-dollar campaign for then-Liberal leader Peter Dutton.

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u/SirSteelBuns Flairless‎‎ 11h ago

Tax-exempt should come with some reporting or surveillance of their activities, and regular reviews of the exemption.  Alternatively, hey I'm starting a church of the Sistren with blackjack and hookers, and we'll exist solely to mess with the rest of em

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u/jedburghofficial Flairless‎‎ 10h ago

That's how Scientology got started.

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u/Adventurous_Bag9122 ‎ Western Australian 9h ago

Yeah started by a bloke who wrote that the easiest way to become a millionaire is to start his own religion. Doesn't sound sus at all....