Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The government members opposite who are interjecting may wish that I was not pursuing this case. They are highly embarrassed and they are seeking cover because of their connections with the Exclusive Brethren. There is no doubt the Exclusive Brethren in this country are the stalking horse for conservative parties when it comes to election campaigning. What we do know is that in this country, in New Zealand, in the United States and elsewhere, this secretive sect—which refuses to allow its members to vote, which despises the democratic system—nevertheless has busied itself with pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into supporting the Hon. Prime Minister John Howard, his government and his counterparts elsewhere in the world.

We Greens say everybody has the right to take part in the democratic process. But let it be on the record. Let it not be covert. Let it not be hidden. Let it not be in back rooms, as happened in New Zealand. Let there not be secret meetings. Let it not be a case where material used to attack the Greens in Tasmania turns up in New Zealand with a slight word change and gloating by the Exclusive Brethren that this is an effective way to ‘fix’ the opponents of the National Party in New Zealand. Of course, what happened in New Zealand was that they were not only spotted; they were discovered. They were discovered because some members of the NZ National Party were so disgusted with what was going on there that they decided they wanted it on the public record. And it now is on the public record.

I ask: what is the relationship between the Prime Minister of this country and the Exclusive Brethren? He has admitted to meeting them, but he will not answer the questions about where, whom and when, and what deals were done. I think the Prime Minister owes it to this country and its democratic system to be honest in this matter. I think every minister in this place owes it to the country to be honest.