Katter senator Fraser Anning spoke at neo-Nazi rally

Katter’s Australia Party senator Fraser Anning addressed a rally organised by a neo-Nazi group.

Katter’s Australian Party senator Fraser Anning.

Katter’s Australian Party senator Fraser Anning addressed a rally organised by a neo-Nazi group that billed itself as part of a libertarian conference attended by four Coalition MPs held in Brisbane late last month.

The Queensland chapter of True Blue Crew organised a rally last month against Safe Schools — billed as one of “the main highlights from LibertyFest” — ­although Coalition MPs who ­attended the main conference said they were not aware of it.

Senator Anning, who in his maiden speech to parliament earlier this year called for a “final solution” to immigration policy and later denied knowing the phrase was coined in Nazi Germany to describe plans for a Jewish genocide, stood on the back of a truck and said the “silent majority will no longer be silenced”.

“It’s time for us to push back,” Senator Anning told about 30 ­people. “Decent people like yourselves are starting to push back.”

The Main Highlights from LibertyFest.Occurring on the Saturday afternoon in Brisbane at Speakers Corner not far from...

Posted by QLD TBC True Blue Crew on Sunday, 14 October 2018

Phillip Galea, a member of True Blue Crew, which describes itself as a “street patriot” movement but has strong ties to neo-Nazi principles and nationalism, was charged with two terrorism ­offences in 2015. When police raided his Geelong property, they ­allegedly found 361g of mercury, video clips on how to make ­explosives and instructions on manufacturing mercury as a precursor to explosives. His committal hearing began last month and his case is still before the courts.

LNP member for Dawson Geo­rge Christensen said he had no idea about the True Blue Crew event. “I was invited to speak as a member of parliament and travelled accordingly, within the rules and within the law,” Mr Christensen told The Australian. “I was not aware of any rally, I don’t believe it was part of LibertyFest as I didn’t see it nor did I attend it.

‘‘For the record, I attended LibertyFest with other reputable MPs, political, community and business figures including Craig Kelly, Amanda Stoker, Warren Mundine OAM and Shark Tank star Steve Baxter. I spoke on the erosion of consumer rights to choose what they want to eat, smoke and drink without government looking over their shoulder.”

Queensland LNP senator Amanda Stoker gave a speech on minority fundamentalism — she did not use parliamentary travel allowances for the event — while Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson attended LibertyFest for 30 minutes on Saturday morning but had an unrelated prior engagement on the Friday evening.

LibertyFest is organised by an organisation called Liberty Works with links via its chief economist Darren Nelson to the Liberal Democrats and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Mr Nelson was an ­adviser for former PHON senator Malcolm Roberts.

The gold sponsor of the conference is a group called Rite-On, which is opposed to Islam and sharia law and was active during the last Queensland state election campaign, urging voters to elect PHON or LNP candidates.

Mr Christensen said: “The organisers of Rite-On are known to me and are not anti-Muslim but anti-radical Islam, which I am too.”

Senator Anning was also ­approached for comment.