‘Long march’: The right-wing Christian plan to infiltrate politics

An Australian right-wing Christian conference has been urged to flood the country’s Liberal parties with members to gain long-term influence and ensure conservative religious candidates “prevail” in every branch.

The comments from host Dave Pellowe were part of a panel session to end the Church and State summit in Brisbane on Saturday, focused on whether to join a major or minor party amid the goal of “arming Christians to influence culture”.

A screenshot of the annual Brisbane Church and State summit livestream on Saturday – the second of two days of panels and 20 speakers.

With Labor now holding power federally and in all states and territories except Tasmania and NSW, the various Liberal and National parties are seeking to rebuild relevance from opposition amid efforts by the religious sector and the far-right to import strategies from counterparts in places such as the United States.

Across two days and 20 speakers, the summit’s attendees (500 in total, Pellowe would tell the room) heard from a range of figures, including former National Party leader and deputy prime minister-turned YouTuber John Anderson, and pandemic “freedom” figure Joel Jammal.

A livestream was also available on the right-wing digital platform now home to former Sydney radio shock jock Alan Jones.

While the summit’s website paints the event as neither politically right nor left, speakers railed against “the transgender issue”, abortion and climate action. They also referenced the Great Reset conspiracy alongside perceived attacks on Christian values and a decline of Western civilisation.

Former federal Queensland LNP MP George Christensen argued Western culture was possessed by Satan – “literally or metaphorically” – and civilisation would end within our lifetimes unless Christians acted or Jesus returned first. He suggested anyone who spoke up was “declared an extremist and a terrorist” – an apparent reference to the Wieambilla shooting trio recently labelled the country’s first extremist Christian terror attack.

Right-wing commentator James Macpherson falsely claimed a gender-fluid world “doesn’t exist” because God created people male and female – despite the presence, whether accepted or repressed, of non-binary ideas of sex and gender across cultures and history.

After attending a rally in the Brisbane CBD against the Queensland government’s plans to better recognise trans and gender-diverse people, alongside failed federal Liberal candidate and anti-trans campaigner Katherine Deves, Northern Territory Country Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price joined the final session ahead of her keynote fundraising dinner speech.

That panel was tasked with answering whether Christians looking to “effect a better outcome on our nation” should join a minor or major political party. Price acknowledged public frustration with the Coalition parties but urged people to instead “stand our ground and become part of the machinery”.

Queensland One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts insisted the only hope was with minor parties, while self-described independent political commentator Topher Field suggested these parties helped shift conspiracies and right-wing Christian ideas into public debate, forcing a Coalition response.

Citing the 2021 expulsion of hundreds of Pentecostal Christians from the South Australian Liberal Party after a mass membership drive while suggesting hundreds more were still “quietly” involved, Pellowe advocated for similar involvement nationwide in a “long march” over decades.

The self-described Christian conservative – who has arranged tours by far-right speakers with neo-nazi links, and been involved in Queensland anti-vaccine mandate rallies – has made similar comments at past summits.

He is also involved with the Australian Conservative Political Action Network, which is affiliated with the US group whose recent event featured a speaker calling for trans people to be “eradicated from public life”.

Pellowe, who left the Liberal Party in 2012 after losing faith over his ability to influence it, while ostensibly trying to maintain an “independent neutral position”, told the summit his hope had returned, and he urged people to join “a major party en masse” to influence key local votes in “every branch in every state”.

“I would never say you need to support the Liberal Party. My point is, you need to join the Liberal Party. We need to save the Liberal Party,” Pellowe said, before delivering another line that sparked laughter in the room.

“So I’m not saying you need to support the Liberal Party, yet.”