The Milky Bars are on Dr Jim in Penrith tonight!
Tomorrow Belongs to Me from John Smith on Vimeo.
For the second time in its brief history, the Australia First Party has had one of its members elected to local council: in this case Maurice Girotto and to the East Ward of Penrith (NSW) Council. See : Australia First Party council candidate elected, Emma Schiller, Penrith Press, September 14, 2012.
Talk about trickle down effect- not in the capitalist economic sense obviously- but a socio-cultural/political sense vis a vis the normalisation of xenophobia more generally (racism, sexism, homophobia etc). I have to admit, I didn’t even know the Australia First Party existed until a few weeks ago. Thankful I’m aware of them now, esp given info like this:
“In its 16-year history the Australia First Party has received criticism of its right wing policies and the chequered criminal past of NSW party chairman Dr Jim Saleam.
The party contested the council elections in Penrith, the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Blacktown, Wollondilly and Sutherland. In their policy programme they outline the need to create council committees that would transform “areas/towns into multicultural-free zones”, and the “moral rearmament and re-culturation of their fellow Australians”.
[ . . . ]
“We need to think of the Australian population and worry about our people first. It seems to me that too often we’re more worried about people from overseas than our own people.
“Some individuals in our party may be tagged as far-right, but not all of us. We’re made of people who have Australia at heart.”
I’ve written quite a bit about Dr Jim and his party — not a lot of which I think he appreciates. On Jim’s early career and the various fascist precursors to AF, read David Greason. Note that AF was originally est by Graeme Campbell, and in many ways does indeed embody an earlier labour (and Labor) tradition. I’d also add that it’s both a case of trickle down and er, trickle up: AF cadre are often veterans of the populist and far right (AAFI, CAP, NA, ON, et al).
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