PBCC leader denies coordinating Liberal campaign — ABC News Australia
In Australia, Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) spiritual leader Bruce Hales denied coordinating a campaign in support of the Liberal Party during the 2025 federal election. At a hearing of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, he said that he had not coordinated, directed or funded such activity, ABC News Australia reports.
Hales added that he could not be responsible for possible antisocial actions by individual people of any faith. Earlier, several politicians said that church members had intimidated rival candidates and campaign participants. Nine newspapers also reported that church members allegedly paid far-right influencers, including people linked to neo-Nazis, to harass and shout remarks at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Meetings with far-right figures
The son of the elder, Gareth Hales, confirmed that he had met Chris de Bruyne and Morgan C. Jonas, who were accused of using intimidation tactics during the campaign. According to him, these were brief business meetings, and he did not know about their political ties at the time.
Gareth Hales also rejected claims that Sante Global, a company with which he was previously associated, paid people linked to neo-Nazis to disrupt Albanese's campaign. He said that, as a private individual, he volunteered for the Liberal Party at only four polling places and had a very limited role. At the same time, he acknowledged encouraging some church members, without specifying the number of people or the nature of such advice.
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Posters and disputes in the committee
The committee also examined the origin of posters bearing the words Make Australia Smile Again, which reportedly appeared in several electorates. Bruce Hales was asked about the similarity of this slogan to his sermon a month before the election, when he urged believers to pray for “good governance” because Australia needed to be happy and smiling again.
Hales said he did not know whether his sons had taken the sermon as support for the Liberal Party. According to him, he learned about his older son's involvement in campaigning only after a photograph appeared in a newspaper. Gareth Hales said that he had not seen such posters and was also surprised that an internal Liberal Party review described PBCC members as a support group.
Committee chair Jerome Laxale said that thousands of church members were present at polling places during the campaign. Coalition representatives called the line of questioning a “witch hunt,” while National Party Senator Bridget McKenzie accused the committee of religious discrimination. PBCC has a global community of 56,000 people.
