Qld cults: The kids growing up under total control

The cloistered and heavily controlled life of children born or brought into a Queensland cult has been uncovered in a special investigation. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

They’re the cult kids – children of a secretive Queensland sect who live under rules that see them homeschooled, told not to attend university, fed rations, told to learn an ancient language spoken by Jesus, restricted from playing and allegedly “severely disciplined”.

The cloistered and heavily controlled life of children born or brought into the Anglican Catholic Mission Community – formerly the Jesus People of North Queensland – has been uncovered by The Courier-Mail as part of a three-month investigation.

The documents include a list of the strict rules governing children as well as shocking allegations of violence against even toddlers and disabled children.

Since it was founded in the 1970s by Daniel Landy-Ariel, dozens of children have been born into the cult that has communes in NSW and Queensland. The rules – laid out in the ACMC’s manifesto – dictate all children up to the age of 15 are to be watched and controlled by all cult members. Children must be homeschooled so they aren’t exposed to “antichrist secular” education.

A judge ordered one young girl in the cult attend a mainstream school after finding her education progress was poor, court documents show.

Children are told not to aspire to higher education because it leads to “brainwash and squander”.

Male cult members are encouraged to take up “trades rather than professions”, while women are pushed to become cooks, personal trainers and bookkeepers.

Daniel Landy-Ariel and his Jesus People at their commune at Herberton in Queensland in the mid-1980s

Girls must wear headscarves from an early age and know they will never be treated as equals within the cult.

The cult limits how much children are allowed to play, pointing out “recreation is not for amusement but good fellowship and healthy exercise”.

All members including children have to learn to read write and speak fluently Aramaic, a language reputedly spoken by Jesus.

As with adults, children are fed a meagre, simple diet but given homemade “paddle-pops” made with milk or blended fruit for dessert.

According to allegations in court documents from the early 2010s, cult children as young as two in the ACMC were punched and kicked for “offences” such as not properly feeding the chooks.

One former cult member told the court that children were “verbally and physically disciplined” by adults and older children, with no exception for the disabled children.

The disturbing but disputed allegations were outlined in a court custody battle launched by a woman who fled the cult, leaving one of her children and estranged husband inside.

The judge said he was unable to accept the mother’s assertion “that either the leader or the community as a whole have a culture which is physically, psychologically and emotionally abusive”.

The judge ruled in favour of the father, giving him custody and the mother access rights.