Bundaberg council election candidates questioned over My Place
Some council candidates said they were unaware of My Place Bundaberg’s links to the anti-vax and sovereign citizenship movement when questioned about their membership.
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Bundaberg council election candidates have distanced themselves from a Facebook group linked to holocaust denial, antisemitism and the anti-vax movement of which they were current or former members.
A Gympie Times report published on Monday revealed at least three Gympie council election candidates were members of the My Place Gympie Facebook group, one of 50 pages set up by the My Place movement led by prominent Victorian “sovereign citizen” Darren Bergwerf.
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The My Place movement made national headlines in early 2023, with reports by news.com, the ABC, and The Age, that it was part of Mr Bergwerf’s plan to “re-educate Australians and build a parallel society in preparation for what he believes is the inevitable collapse of civilisation as we know it”.
Mr Bergwerf himself has been reported by the ABC as believing there was a question mark over the holocaust as he “wasn’t there”.
The ABC, in its coverage, said a slideshow created by My Place urged branches to create a “council action group” to attend meetings and “establish constant control over council decisions”.
Senior academics have said the group’s beliefs “raised alarm bells”, and warned local councils that they needed to be aware of the group’s goals.
The stated goal of the My Place Bundaberg group is “to implement a project that allows us to step away from the current systems that are not serving our best interests”.
Mr Bergwerf is an administrator of the My Place Bundaberg group, along with Luke Hart, organiser of the national Forest of the Fallen events which claim to pay respects to people who died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
A Forest of the Fallen installation was removed by organisers of South Australian Anzac Day ceremony in 2023, and marchers carrying Forest of the Fallen placards reportedly “hijacked” the Sydney Vivid festival later the same year.
The My Place Bundaberg page includes a post advertising a Forest of the Fallen event planned for Bundaberg on March 24, saying the event is “not an anti-vax demonstration but an opportunity to read stories of real people who have been affected” by the vaccine.
On Friday, members of the group included Bundaberg mayoral candidate Helen Blackburn, Division 3 candidate Deb Keslake and Division 6 candidate Carmen McEneany.
Ms Blackburn and Ms McEneany were added to the group by an existing member in December 2022 and February 2024 respectively, while Ms Keslake herself joined around February 2023.
Ms Blackburn said she was unaware she was a member of the group or of the group’s activity and the views of Mr Bergwerf, and left the group immediately once she became aware of its controversial views.
“Someone invited me to join the group and I obviously clicked ‘join’ ... I don’t receive any updates or posts from the group (that I can recall) and wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about them, their ethos or their members,” Ms Blackburn said.
“I’ve been invited to join many groups and pages, most times I decline, however, when this group presented as My Place Bundaberg I believe I thought that this would be a group of people who lived in and loved Bundaberg.
“I do not align or abide with any of their beliefs relating to councils or sovereign citizenship.”
Ms McEneany said she had not heard of My Place Bundaberg, had not actively sought membership of the group and had been unable to find the group in her Facebook account in order to remove herself from it.
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Ms Keslake did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
It is not suggested Ms Blackburn, Ms McEneany or Ms Keslake share any of the controversial views that have been linked to My Place’s social pages.
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