JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Leader of the Nationals Senator the Hon. Matt Canavan; Shadow Communications
Minister Senator the Hon. Sarah Henderson; Shadow Minister for Choice in
Childcare Senator Matt O’Sullivan; Shadow Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters
Ben Small MP; JSCEM Deputy Chair Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck; Senator
Jess Collins; Senator Slade Brockman

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The Labor Government’s hyperpartisan witch hunt targeting the Plymouth Brethren
Christian Church (PBCC) came to head today in Federal Parliament, with a Director of
the Church grilled for 3 hours by the Labor-controlled Joint Standing Committee on
Electoral Matters (JSCEM).

For context, the Australian Electoral Commission – the organisation charged with
running the entire 2025 Federal Election – appeared only once at a public hearing and
for just 90 minutes.

The Coalition have had serious concerns about the way the JSCEM Inquiry into the 2025
Federal Election was being conducted, as were clearly captured by the Dissenting
Report to the Committee’s Interim Report.

The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has had a presence in Australia for more than
150 years and has some 16,000 followers nationally.


Shadow Assistant Minster for Electoral Matters Ben Small MP said “the fact that a
religious minority have been hauled before JSCEM for more than twice as long as the
AEC, the statutory organisation who run the entire election, is proof that this is a
persecution on the orders of the Prime Minister of Australia. Anthony Albanese himself
called the PBCC a “cult” during the election campaign, but of course has not responded
to two formal, written invitations to meet with the PBCC and discuss his concerns.”


Mr Small went on to say that “unless he was lying when he called for Australians to “turn
the temperature down”, Anthony Albanese will call the Chair of the Committee today
and put an end to this madness. Anything less than that is further evidence that this
Prime Minister is weak, a liar and incapable of maintaining social cohesion in our own
country.”

fair-minded Australian would consider him fit to lead a committee which should
safeguard our democracy in light of his hyperpartisan conduct.”

Deputy Chair of JSCEM Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck said “Today we saw the
entire institution of the Australian parliament diminished by a conga line of Labor, Green
and Cross Bench members turning up to an attack members of a Christian faith for their
participation in this country’s democratic process. We want as many Australians as
possible participating in our democracy, that fundamental question that seems to have
been lost in this whole nasty inquisition.”

“How we all participate in the process is important is critical and as the witnesses today
said, poor behaviour from anyone is unacceptable. To see an elected member of the
Australian Parliament profiling people based on the clothes they were wearing in the
hearing today is shameful.”


“To hear that Australians were actively and openly asked to identify their faith at a
polling booth by elected Labor members is an infringement on our democracy and that
they openly advanced this in their evidence extraordinary. Elections are by their very
nature a contest of political ideologies. To see fellow Australians attacked for their
participation based on faith and political perspective diminishes the standing of this
important committee of the parliament.”


“The Prime Minister must act to ensure the appropriate operation of this committee
sets an appropriate example.”


Leader of the Nationals, Senator the Hon. Matt Canavan said “what should be a
bipartisan look at the 2025 election has unfortunately descended into a Labor party
witch hunt against people of faith and people who just happen to have the temerity to
oppose Labor's agenda.”

"The Prime Minister should apologise for calling a group of religious people, who
exercise their democratic rights, as being part of a "cult". Labor's attacks smack of
religious discrimination and are an assault on the basic democratic rights of all
Australians."

Shadow Communications Minister Senator the Hon. Sarah Henderson said “apart
from the obvious witch hunt being run against a faith based organisation by Labor and
the Greens, I am appalled by Monique Ryan's false allegations linking the church to
Nazis.”

“As the representative for Kooyong which includes a large Jewish community, this is
reprehensible conduct by Ms Ryan. False comparisons of this kind trivialise the
Holocaust and cause real hurt to Jewish Australians.”

NSW Senator Jess Collins said "The Albanese Government is abusing their super
majority to target Australians who happen to be Christians because they dared to
campaign against a socialist government. We're another step closer to Albanese's
communist utopia, where religious freedom is not tolerated."

Shadow Minister for Choice in Childcare Senator Matt O’Sullivan asked “what has
become of our democracy when Australians of a particular religious denomination are
singled out for scrutiny simply for participating in it? Freedom of religion and freedom of
association are fundamental democratic rights. Shame on this Prime Minister for
allowing his own members to run this disgraceful fiasco.”

Senator Slade Brockman said “Australians volunteering as a part of our democracy
should be celebrated by us all. Labor want a religious litmus-test to ban certain
Australians of faith from participating like any other citizen. That isn’t right, it isn’t fair
and it’s downright un-Australian”