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Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party
LeaderFraser Anning
Founded2019
Headquarters1 Eagle St,
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
IdeologyAustralian nationalism
Anti-Islam
National conservatism
Social conservatism
Right-wing populism
Political positionFar-right
Colours  Blue
Website
conservativenationalparty.org[1]
Part of a series on
Far-right politics
in Australia
Active organisations
Defunct organisations
People
Literature
Related topics

Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party is a nationalist political party in Australia[2][3] founded by Fraser Anning in April 2019, when he was a senator for Queensland. Anning had previously been a senator for One Nation and Katter's Australian Party, and sat as an independent before founding the new party. The party contested the 2019 federal election, but failed to win a seat.[4]

History

Fraser Anning, the party's leader, c. 2018.

Defection from One Nation and Katter's Australian Party

Fraser Anning stood as the third candidate on the One Nation list for Queensland at the 2016 federal election, with Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts standing as the first and second candidates respectively. After Malcolm Roberts was found ineligible during the 2017-2018 eligibility crisis due to his dual citizenship, Anning was declared by the Court of Disputed Returns elected, replacing Roberts.[5] After a conflict with the party's chief of staff James Ashby over his choice of staff, Anning resigned from the party and was sworn in to the senate as an independent.[6]

Anning joined Katter's Australian Party in June 2018.[7] During his maiden speech, in August 2018, Anning proposed a "final solution to the immigration problem" with a referendum and a "European Christian" immigration system.[8] Despite initially supporting Anning's speech, the party expelled him two months later with Bob Katter labelling Anning's views as racist.[9]

Party foundation

In January 2019, Anning applied to register Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party. The National Party and the Australian Conservatives objected to the name, arguing it was too similar to theirs and would cause confusion for voters. The Australian Electoral Commission responded that there was no real chance that electors would be left uncertain about which name attaches to which organisation due to inclusion of "Fraser Anning" in the name, which would additionally also result in distinct party abbreviations.[10][11]

The AEC approved the party's registration on 2 April 2019,[11] after the application for the formal abbreviation “Conservative Nationals” was withdrawn, in time for the party to contest the 2019 federal election.[3] Anning said he would be "announcing candidates across most lower house seats" and "running a Senate team in every state" for the election.

May 2019 federal election

The party put up 70 candidates across both houses. These included several who have likened LGBTQI people to paedophiles, those who have been accused of animal cruelty, who have criticised single mothers and disability pensioners, and at least two who have criminal histories. One candidate, Scott Moerland, was a senior figure in the United Patriots Front and has links with Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson, despite Anning's earlier claim that he would not endorse anyone associated with them. Their social media posts target immigrants from certain countries, Muslims, political correctness, LGBTQI people and ideas, and people and policies tackling climate change.[12] The party failed to win a seat; Anning himself did not get re-elected to the Senate.[13][14]

Bankruptcy

The Australian Federal Court handed down an order winding up the estate of William Fraser Anning on 16 March 2020, as part of Anning’s ongoing dispute with Adelaide and Bendigo Bank, which was chasing the debt of $185,000 related to Mr Anning's investment in a failed agribusiness scheme. [15] The date of his bankruptcy was ordered to be set to July 15, 2019. Sources close to Anning say he is currently visiting family in the United States and has not said when he will return to Australia.[16]

Ideology and policies

Anning himself has been described as far-right, a nationalist and a right-wing populist.[17][18][19][20][21] He attended a far-right rally in Melbourne for which he claimed almost $3000 in expenses from the government. At the rally he made claims about an "African gang problem" in Queensland, claims that were rejected by Queensland's police commissioner.[22] He also blamed Muslim immigration for terrorism,[23][24][25] calling for an "end [to] all immigration from Muslim and black African nations".[26] The party believes in the white genocide conspiracy theory. On its Facebook page, a post called for the preservation of "our ethno-cultural identity, or we will fast become a minority".[27] Its stated policies include:[25]

Controversies

Cronulla assault

On 26 April 2019, during the 2019 Federal Election campaign, Anning used the site of the 2005 Cronulla race riots in Sydney to announce his party's candidates for New South Wales. A 19-year-old supporter of Anning was arrested and charged with assault and intimidation after being involved in an altercation with members of the media immediately after the announcement, allegedly punching a photographer and abusing a journalist. Video footage shows the young man repeatedly punching the photographer, who sustained injury.[28][29] The assailant was a member of the militant white supremacist group True Blue Crew, which has been linked to terrorism.[30]

Rahma el-Dennaoui

On 12 May 2019, an official post on Anning's Facebook page included a picture of the family of Rahma el-Dennaoui, a toddler who disappeared in 2005, accompanied with the phrase "if you want a Muslim for a neighbour, just vote Labor" and the party's logo. The photo appeared to be from a 2010 Daily Telegraph article published shortly after the girl's disappearance.[31] The post was deleted the following day, but not before it had attracted a number of negative comments after Mariam Veiszadeh and others had commented about it on social media.[32]

References

  1. ^ Archived version.
  2. ^ Kelly, Joe. "Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party registered, will run candidates at election". The Australian. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party registered with AEC". Courier Mail. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Registration of a political party Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Introducing Australia's newest senators". ABC News. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  6. ^ Belot, Henry (13 November 2017). "New senator says Hanson booted him from One Nation in 'vitriolic' attack". ABC News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Dominique (4 June 2018). "Former One Nation senator joins forces with Bob Katter". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  8. ^ Conifer, Dan (14 August 2018). "'The final solution to the immigration problem': Anning calls for plebiscite on immigration". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  9. ^ Karp, Paul (25 October 2018). "Australian senator who called for 'final solution' to immigration expelled from party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  10. ^ Baird, Lucas (11 January 2019). "The Nationals Party express concern over new Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Notice of decision under subsection 133(1A) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) and Statement of Reasons" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  12. ^ Fernando, Gavin (16 May 2019). "Fear and loathing inside Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party". news.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Senate results: Hanson-Young returns, but Hinch, Anning and Burston are gone". The Guardian. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  14. ^ Smith, Rohan (19 May 2019). "'Back where he came from': Australia rejoices as Fraser Anning booted from Senate". Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  15. ^ McGarth, Pat (2 August 2019). "Former senator Fraser Anning facing bankruptcy, believed to be out of the country". ABC.
  16. ^ Butler, Gavin (17 March 2020). "Fraser Anning Declared Bankrupt on the Anniversary of Being Egged". VICE.
  17. ^ "'Full force of the law' should apply to Fraser Anning after egging incident, Morrison says". The Guardian. 17 March 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Peter Dutton claims Greens 'just as bad' as Fraser Anning on Christchurch attack". MSN News. 17 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Fraser Anning spent most taxpayers' money on family travel last year". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Far-right Australian lawmaker finds himself -- literally -- with egg on his face". CNN. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  21. ^ "The rise and rise of Australia's right". Asia Times. 24 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Queensland police reject Senator Fraser Anning's 'African gang' claims". The Brisbane Times. 7 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Outrage as Fraser Anning blames NZ attacks on 'Muslim immigration'". SBS News. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  24. ^ "What I Stand For". Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party. Facebook. 8 March 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Policies". Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  26. ^ Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party. "What I Stand For". Facebook. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Fraser Anning federal election candidate announcement in Cronulla ends with violent scuffle". ABC News. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  29. ^ Bungard, Matt (26 April 2019). "Photographer hurt in scuffle at Fraser Anning press conference". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  30. ^ Smee, Ben. "'Quite frightening': the far-right fringe of the election campaign is mobilising". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Rahma El-DENNAOUI". Australian Missing Persons Register. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  32. ^ Baker, Nick (13 May 2019). "Outrage as Fraser Anning uses image of grieving Muslim family on Facebook post". SBS News. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
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