The messy coup within the NSW Liberal Party, elevating the power of the extreme right, is a timely reminder that elements associated with the Catholic Church are well versed in manipulating the Australian political scene.
Hillsong, Sydney’s largest evangelic meeting, might have the numbers and the money, but it’s David Clarke’s Opus Dei which is wielding the axe. The Catholic Church has been an active, if back room, player in Australian politics for many years.
B A (Bob) Santamaria was a household name to a couple of generations of Australians. Although never elected to any office, Santamaria, through his National Civic Council and the Australian Family Association carried a great deal of influence.
With B A at the wheel, the Catholic Church split the Australian Labor Party, in the 1950’s creating their own, relatively ineffective Democratic Labor Party.
“During the 1940s and early 1950s strong pressures had built up within the labour movement over the activities of communists in the trade unions. The Communist Party was then a united and coherent political unit and a number of its members reached prominent positions in trade unions. This created problems for the ALP because it meant that part of its affiliated membership was under the leadership and influence of another political party. Counter movements were formed within and outside the ALP to fight communism.” History of the Australian Labor Party
Vehemently anticommunist, the Catholic Church under Cardinal Daniel Mannix and others saw incursion into political affairs as their right.
A generation later, and with the aid, or cover, of protestant Evangelicals, Clarke has rebirthed right wing Catholic political activism. In line with much of Opus Dei’s sordid background, Clarke has a long association with the farthest extremes of the right, fascism.
“Twenty-seven years ago David Clarke was photographed at a function organised by a group linked with sympathisers of Ustashi, the notorious far-right Croatian militia group.”
“But on April 10 this year, Mr Clarke attended and was snapped at a similar event - which the author and historian Mark Aarons wrote amounted to a "glorification of April 10, 1941, the day Hitler installed Ante Pavelic and the Ustashi into power as Nazi puppets".
“The function was held at the Croatian Club in Punchbowl - the same place where a meeting of the Liberal Party's newest branch erupted into an all-out brawl last year, prompting the arrival of eight police officers, three patrol cars and even a sniffer dog. Mr Clarke - who says politicians from both sides of politics are seen at such ethnic functions every year - has been forced to defend himself amid further allegations of his political involvement with far right-wing groups.”
Paola Totaro and Robert Wainwright September 8, 2005 Sydney Morning Herald
Again, in line with Opus Dei practice, secrecy and denial have been a hallmark of this episode. Despite that the major parties already control your vote, to a large extent; or perhaps because of this, these extremists must be purged from the parties, or at the very least, checked.
If the major political parties can see fit to take control of much of the process of choosing who will represent us, they have an equal responsibility to protect the electorate from extremists of any kind. The country can cope with the odd Tony Abbott (pun intended). At least, distasteful as he is at times, he is out in the open.
If the churches are to fulfill any meaningful role in this society they should back out of politics and get on with their primary missions. The party bosses have the ability ti fix these problems. If they don’t it will be tears before bedtime for all.
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