The Australia First Party (AFP), officially known as the Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, is an Australian nationalist political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell, a former member of the Australian Labor Party. The policies of the party have been described as nationalist, anti-multicultural and economically protectionist, advocating for strict immigration controls, the prioritization of Australian citizens in employment, and the promotion of Australian culture and values. The party's logo includes the Southern Cross of the Eureka Flag.
The Australia First Party was established in June 1996 by Graeme Campbell, and registered as a political party by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 13 September 1996. Campbell had been the federal Labor member for Kalgoorlie since 1980. However, he was disendorsed by Labor in 1995, and continued to sit in parliament as an independent. He was reelected as an independent at the 1996 Australian federal election, and formed AFP soon after. However, AFP was not successful at the 1998 federal election and Campbell lost his seat, blaming his loss on Australia First being eclipsed by One Nation. In 2009, he claimed that, if not for the presence of a One Nation candidate, he would have picked up an additional 8.5% of the vote, which would have been enough to keep him in the race.
Campbell remained Australia First's leader until June 2001, when he left the party to stand (unsuccessfully) as a One Nation Senate candidate in Western Australia. At the 2004 federal election, Campbell attempted unsuccessfully to regain his old federal seat as an independent. He again stood for the Senate in Western Australia at the 2007 federal election as an independent, but only achieved 0.13% of the vote.[15]
In 2002, Jim Saleam ran as an AFP candidate for a seat on Marrickville council, New South Wales, claiming "to oppose Marrickville being a Refugee Welcome Zone". Later that year the party formed its youth wing, the Patriotic Youth League.
AFP was deregistered by the AEC on 13 August 2004 for failing to nominate candidates at elections for four years. By 2007, Saleam had reestablished AFP, and in July 2009, Saleam claimed that the party had 500 members, and announced that he was registering its New South Wales branch, Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, with the AEC. The branch was registered by AEC on 13 June 2010, in time for the 2010 federal election.[17]
On 14 July 2015, the AEC de-registered the AFP due to its failure to demonstrate the required 500 members. It was re-registered on 1 March 2016 as "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated".[19]
AFP contested the 2016 federal election, without any success. Saleam stood in the seat of Lindsay, New South Wales, receiving 1068 votes or 1.2% of the vote. In October 2016, the Australia First Party joined with the Australian Protectionist Party, Nationalist Alternative, Eureka Youth League, and Hellenic Nationalists of Australia to form the Australian Coalition of Nationalists, as a framework for cooperation between these entities.[20]
Saleam stood in the seat of Cootamundra, New South Wales, in the 2017 by-election as an independent, though still a member of Australia First, as the party was not registered for NSW elections. He received 453 votes, 1% of the total. He again stood in the seat at the 2019 New South Wales state election as an independent. Saleam's platform included the reintroduction of the White Australia policy and opposition to Chinese immigration.[22]
On 12 January 2022, the party was de-registered by the Australian Electoral Commission for failing to meet the increased requirement of 1,500 members.[24]
Policies and electoral performance
The party stands on a nationalist, anti-multicultural and economic protectionist platform. It advocates for strict immigration controls, the prioritization of Australian citizens in employment, and the protection of national sovereignty.[25] The party follows eight core policies in their programme:[26]
Ensure Australia retains full independence.
Rebuild Australian manufacturing industries.
Control foreign ownership.
Reduce and limit immigration.
Abolish multiculturalism.
Introduce Citizen's Initiated Referendums.
Strengthen the family.
Strive to rebuild a united Australia.
The Australia First Party has been largely unsuccessful electorally. It has been elected to two local council seats, one in City of Penrith and one in City of Prospect. Saleam ran as a candidate in the 2018 Longman by-election, receiving 684 votes or 0.8% of the vote.[27]
The Australia First Party's activities have mainly consisted of distributing anti-immigration and racist pamphlets and protesting,[29] although they denied involvement in some highly racist leaflets dropped in mailboxes in 2010 Campbelltown.[30]
Cronulla riots (2005)
The group played a large role in the 2005 Cronulla riots. In the week prior to the riots, the AFP encouraged members to go to the seaside suburb of Cronulla. Its website called for "patriots" to show solidarity with victims of "anti-Australian race and hate and violence".[31] AFP claim that 120 members and supporters attended the riots, and both members of the AFP and their youth wing the Patriotic Youth League were seen handing out anti-immigration leaflets and supplying alcohol there.[32] Their website later described the riots as a "civil uprising of the Australian people".[29]
Nathan Sykes arrest
On 20 March 2019, Australia First member Nathan Sykes, described as a "prolific online troll and a lieutenant of Australia's most prominent white supremacist Jim Saleam", was charged with at least eight offences, after allegations that he made repeated and detailed violent threats to Melbourne journalist and lawyer Luke McMahon. He had previously made numerous racist and intimidating online comments targeting high-profile Australians, including ex-Racial Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane, activist Mariam Veiszadeh and Guardian journalist Van Badham.[33]
Patriotic/Eureka Youth League
The Patriotic Youth League was formed in 2002 by former One Nation activist Stuart McBeth as the youth wing of the Australia First Party. It was described by numerous media commentators and academics as a far right, white nationalist youth organisation that has been linked to neo-Nazism, including the now-disbanded US-based Volksfront, and hate crimes.[31][34]
The group was mainly active in the northern suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, and played a large role in the 2005 Cronulla riots.[35] They distributed white power leaflets in the days prior to the riots, displayed banners saying "Aussies fighting back" at the riots,[35] and also distributed pamphlets and alcohol during the riots.[32]
The league disbanded in 2006, but was reincarnated as the Eureka Youth League in 2010[35][36] (not to be confused with the historical Eureka Youth League). As of April 2021[update] the Eureka Youth League has a website[37] and Facebook group, although the last post on the latter was in October 2017.[38]
On 10 July 2009, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that David Palmer, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in Australia, said several Klan members had secretly joined Australia First. Palmer said Australia First had been identified as an Aryan party and would prove useful "in case the ethnics get out of hand and they need sorting out." The Australia First Party later endorsed former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke for the 2016 Louisiana election via Twitter.[41]
In July 2010, it was reported that Australia First was distributing leaflets comparing Africans to monkeys, and "blaming Africans for the social problems in Sydney's west". Australia First denied responsibility for the leaflets, claiming that they had been distributed in an attempt to discredit the party.[42]
^Each time the party was registered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), first in 1996, it was later deregistered for not meeting the requirements within the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
Brook, Benedict (9 May 2019). "Labor's new political ad has been slammed for being racist". News.com.au. Retrieved 17 February 2024. The head of the right-wing Australia First party has told news.com.au that far from being annoyed at Labor borrowing its name, Mr Shorten could actually have "done us a favour" by "legitimising" his party.
Grumke, Thomas (2003), "The transatlantic dimension of right-wing extremism", Human Rights Review, 4 (4): 56–72, doi:10.1007/s12142-003-1021-x, S2CID145203309, On 24 October 1998 the Greek right-wing extremist organisation Chrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn) was the host for the 5th European Youth Congress in Thessaloniki.
^ abMulcair, John (10 October 2006). "Rally held at MP's office". St. George and Sutherland Shire Leader (Sutherland edition). p. 11. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
![Eureka flag[13]](/en/File:Eureka_Flag.svg)
