Australian League of Rights
Encyclopedia
The Australian League of Rights is a long-lived far right
and anti-semitic political organisation in Australia
founded by Eric Butler
with its basis in the economic theory of Social Credit
expounded by C. H. Douglas
. It describes itself as upholding the virtues of freedom
. Its stated values are "loyalty to God, Queen and Country" and has portrayed itself as anti-political party
.
in 1946. A national organisation was launched in 1960. The League would form off-shoots in the white dominions
, Britain
, Canada
and New Zealand
. In 1972 Butler created an umbrella group the Crown Commonwealth League of Rights to represent the four groups; it would also serve as a chapter of the World Anti-Communist League. It would also be linked with far right groups in the United States
such as the John Birch Society
. The first Crown Commonwealth League of Rights conference was held in Melbourne
in 1979.
Veritas is the publishing company of the League. The League publishes a weekly newsletter called On Target.
. It is anti-communist
and anti-World Government. Its leaders argue in favour of capitalism
, by promoting the inviolability of private property and individual enterprise, and they are advocates of Social Credit. They are monarchist
and opposed to Australian republicanism
and see strong relations with Great Britain
as fundamental to Australian identity.
has been the "touchstone
of the League's ideology". The League has described the Holocaust
as the "alleged Holocaust" and the "Holocaust Hoax". Its founder, Eric Butler
was well known for his anti-Semitism and support of such documents as the Protocols of Zion. The historian Andrew Markus wrote that "In the 1990s league publications were still promoting The Protocols, describing the Holocaust as a 'hoax', the invention of Zionist propagandists, identifying prominent Jewish individuals in public life and declaring that modern Christianity was 'little more than a form of Liberal Judaism'. The Jewish plot was also described using various code words, notably the 'one world conspiracy' hatched by 'international elites', international bureaucracies, international bankers, members of the Fabian Society
, or the United Nations
.".
The League supported David Irving
and assisted his visits to Australia; Veritas would publish Irving's work in Australia.
However, the League is not and has never been a pro-Nazi organisation. It has stated on various occasions that neo-nazi organisations are created by the Jews to discredit patriots.
, the party system
and the processes of parliamentary democracy. However, the League has tried to use entryism
or support various political parties and community or social groups.
Butler in his book The Money Power versus Democracy (1940) stated "The Party system of Government can play little part, if any, in the struggle for real democracy. In principle, it is the antithesis of democracy."
Douglas regarded the party system as a "criminal absurdity" and argued for the end of the secret ballot
. He believed that with the implementation of social credit, party politics would end.
, encouraging members to join the party in sufficient numbers to take control, a tactic known as entryism
. Recently appointed Party leader Doug Anthony
led an effort to defend the Party from the League by recruiting people who would vote against League candidates. After a long struggle over several years, Anthony's forces prevailed. An ironic consequence of this struggle was that the National Party, which got far fewer votes than either the Labor
or Liberal
parties, had more members. This fact became much more widely known than the reason for it, with both sides keeping the struggle out of the media.
Many years later various League members would offer support to the One Nation party.
Former Western Australian Labor MP, founder of the Australia First Party
and later One Nation member Graeme Campbell was associated with the League at the same time as he was a member of One Nation and Australia First. Mr Campbell stated that "Australia First has no association with the League. It's me with the association."
Former treasurer Peter Costello
stated that One Nation's policy of a state bank which would issue low-interest loans was directly taken from the ALOR, and that "the League of Rights is driving its policy in relation to banking and money"
The League has been linked with Australians Against Further Immigration
(AAFI). Franca Arena
raised a question in the New South Wales Legislative Council
in 1994 about the links between the AAFI and the "notorious and dangerous League of Rights, which has been described as the most influential, effective, best organised and most substantially financed racist organisation in Australia". She questioned whether the AAFI was just a front for the League.
In 1998 the Australian branch of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission
issued a press release that "The Co-founder of Australians Against Further Immigration (AAFI), and One Nation’s Victorian leader Robyn Spencer has addressed numerous League of Rights meetings as well as delivered a speech with League of Rights, Advisory National Director Eric Butler."
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
and anti-semitic political organisation in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
founded by Eric Butler
Eric Butler
Eric Dudley Butler , Australian political activist and journalist, was the founder of the Australian League of Rights.Butler was born in the Victorian country town of Benalla, although he lived most of his life near Melbourne. In the 1930s he became a follower of the British economist C. H. Douglas...
with its basis in the economic theory of Social Credit
Social Credit
Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
expounded by C. H. Douglas
C. H. Douglas
Major C. H. Douglas MIMechE, MIEE, , was a British engineer and pioneer of the Social Credit economic reform movement.-Education and engineering career:...
. It describes itself as upholding the virtues of freedom
Freedom (political)
Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
. Its stated values are "loyalty to God, Queen and Country" and has portrayed itself as anti-political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
.
History
The League was formed in South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1946. A national organisation was launched in 1960. The League would form off-shoots in the white dominions
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
, Britain
British League of Rights
The British League of Rights is an offshoot of the Australian League of Rights founded in 1971. It is "anti-semitic and white supremacist" political group. The British League opposed the entry of the UK into the European Economic Community....
, Canada
Canadian League of Rights
The Canadian League of Rights was the Canadian offshoot of Eric Butler's League of Rights. Following speaking tours of Canada in the mid 60s Eric Butler sought the establishment there of a local version of his organisation. The CLR was formed in 1968....
and New Zealand
New Zealand League of Rights
The New Zealand League of Rights was the New Zealand offshoot of Eric Butler's League of Rights.Following speaking tours of New Zealand in the late 60s Eric Butler sought the establishment there of a local version of his organisation. A New Zealand League of Rights was announced in 1970 but did not...
. In 1972 Butler created an umbrella group the Crown Commonwealth League of Rights to represent the four groups; it would also serve as a chapter of the World Anti-Communist League. It would also be linked with far right groups in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
such as the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
. The first Crown Commonwealth League of Rights conference was held in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1979.
Veritas is the publishing company of the League. The League publishes a weekly newsletter called On Target.
Political views and ideology
From the start, the League has described itself as being based on the principles of ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. It is anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
and anti-World Government. Its leaders argue in favour of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, by promoting the inviolability of private property and individual enterprise, and they are advocates of Social Credit. They are monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
and opposed to Australian republicanism
Republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
and see strong relations with Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as fundamental to Australian identity.
Anti-Semitism
Anti-semitismAnti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
has been the "touchstone
Touchstone (metaphor)
As a metaphor, a touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested. It is similar in use to an acid test, litmus test in politics, and a shibboleth.-Touchstone in literature:...
of the League's ideology". The League has described the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
as the "alleged Holocaust" and the "Holocaust Hoax". Its founder, Eric Butler
Eric Butler
Eric Dudley Butler , Australian political activist and journalist, was the founder of the Australian League of Rights.Butler was born in the Victorian country town of Benalla, although he lived most of his life near Melbourne. In the 1930s he became a follower of the British economist C. H. Douglas...
was well known for his anti-Semitism and support of such documents as the Protocols of Zion. The historian Andrew Markus wrote that "In the 1990s league publications were still promoting The Protocols, describing the Holocaust as a 'hoax', the invention of Zionist propagandists, identifying prominent Jewish individuals in public life and declaring that modern Christianity was 'little more than a form of Liberal Judaism'. The Jewish plot was also described using various code words, notably the 'one world conspiracy' hatched by 'international elites', international bureaucracies, international bankers, members of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, or the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.".
The League supported David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
and assisted his visits to Australia; Veritas would publish Irving's work in Australia.
However, the League is not and has never been a pro-Nazi organisation. It has stated on various occasions that neo-nazi organisations are created by the Jews to discredit patriots.
Opposition to liberal democracy
The League is opposed to liberal democracyLiberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
, the party system
Party system
A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal...
and the processes of parliamentary democracy. However, the League has tried to use entryism
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
or support various political parties and community or social groups.
Butler in his book The Money Power versus Democracy (1940) stated "The Party system of Government can play little part, if any, in the struggle for real democracy. In principle, it is the antithesis of democracy."
Douglas regarded the party system as a "criminal absurdity" and argued for the end of the secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. He believed that with the implementation of social credit, party politics would end.
Connections to Political Parties
In the early 1970s, the League attempted to gain control of the National Party of AustraliaNational Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
, encouraging members to join the party in sufficient numbers to take control, a tactic known as entryism
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
. Recently appointed Party leader Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...
led an effort to defend the Party from the League by recruiting people who would vote against League candidates. After a long struggle over several years, Anthony's forces prevailed. An ironic consequence of this struggle was that the National Party, which got far fewer votes than either the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
or Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
parties, had more members. This fact became much more widely known than the reason for it, with both sides keeping the struggle out of the media.
Many years later various League members would offer support to the One Nation party.
Former Western Australian Labor MP, founder of the Australia First Party
Australia First Party
The Australia First Party is a minor far-right political party in Australia that is federally registered and is also registered to contest local elections in New South Wales. The Party is led by Jim Saleam. Saleam is the Chairman of the Party in New South Wales but plays a major role in the Party...
and later One Nation member Graeme Campbell was associated with the League at the same time as he was a member of One Nation and Australia First. Mr Campbell stated that "Australia First has no association with the League. It's me with the association."
Former treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
stated that One Nation's policy of a state bank which would issue low-interest loans was directly taken from the ALOR, and that "the League of Rights is driving its policy in relation to banking and money"
Connections to other groups
The League operates, and has operated, a number of front organisations such as The Institute of Economic Democracy, The Christian Institute of Individual Freedom, and the Australian Heritage Society.The League has been linked with Australians Against Further Immigration
Australians Against Further Immigration
Australians Against Further Immigration was an Australian political party who described themselves as "eco-nationalists" and were against positive net immigration. The party was founded in 1989 and registered in 1990 by Rodney and Robyn Spencer, the parents of actor Jesse Spencer...
(AAFI). Franca Arena
Franca Arena
Franca Arena is an Australian politician and activist. She was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1981, first for the Australian Labor Party then as an Independent from 1997 until she left the Council in 1999...
raised a question in the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
in 1994 about the links between the AAFI and the "notorious and dangerous League of Rights, which has been described as the most influential, effective, best organised and most substantially financed racist organisation in Australia". She questioned whether the AAFI was just a front for the League.
In 1998 the Australian branch of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission
B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission
The B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission is the human rights arm of B'nai B'rith Australia and New Zealand. It is dedicated to eliminating the defamation of Jewish people, combating racism, intolerance, and prejudice...
issued a press release that "The Co-founder of Australians Against Further Immigration (AAFI), and One Nation’s Victorian leader Robyn Spencer has addressed numerous League of Rights meetings as well as delivered a speech with League of Rights, Advisory National Director Eric Butler."
See also
- Eric ButlerEric ButlerEric Dudley Butler , Australian political activist and journalist, was the founder of the Australian League of Rights.Butler was born in the Victorian country town of Benalla, although he lived most of his life near Melbourne. In the 1930s he became a follower of the British economist C. H. Douglas...
- British League of RightsBritish League of RightsThe British League of Rights is an offshoot of the Australian League of Rights founded in 1971. It is "anti-semitic and white supremacist" political group. The British League opposed the entry of the UK into the European Economic Community....
- Canadian League of RightsCanadian League of RightsThe Canadian League of Rights was the Canadian offshoot of Eric Butler's League of Rights. Following speaking tours of Canada in the mid 60s Eric Butler sought the establishment there of a local version of his organisation. The CLR was formed in 1968....
- New Zealand League of RightsNew Zealand League of RightsThe New Zealand League of Rights was the New Zealand offshoot of Eric Butler's League of Rights.Following speaking tours of New Zealand in the late 60s Eric Butler sought the establishment there of a local version of his organisation. A New Zealand League of Rights was announced in 1970 but did not...
- Social creditSocial CreditSocial Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
- Douglas Credit PartyDouglas Credit PartyThe Douglas Credit Party was an Australian political party based around the social credit theory of monetary reform, first set out by C. H. Douglas. It gained its strongest result in Queensland in 1935, when it gained 7.02% of first preferences. The party's strongest federal result was at the 1934...
(Australia) - Social Credit Party (New Zealand)Social Credit Party (New Zealand)The New Zealand Social Credit Party was a political party which served as the country's "third party" from the 1950s through into the 1980s. The party held a number of seats in the New Zealand Parliament, although never more than two at a time...
- Canadian social credit movementCanadian social credit movementThe Canadian social credit movement was a Canadian political movement originally based on the Social Credit theory of Major C. H. Douglas. Its supporters were colloquially known as Socreds...
- Douglas Credit Party
Further reading
- Campbell, Andrew A. (1978), The Australian League of Rights: a study in political extremism and subversion, Outback Press, Collingwood. ISBN 0868882224
- Connell, R.W. and Gould, Florence (1967), Politics of the Extreme Right. Warringah 1966, Sydney University Press, Sydney, NSW.
- Gardner, Paul (1991), 'The League of Rights in Australia,' Without Prejudice, No. 3, June, Pages 42–53.
- Gott, K.D. (Ken) (1965), Voices of Hate. A Study of the Australian League of Rights and its Director, Eric D. Butler, Dissent Publishing Association, Melbourne.
- Greason, David (1994), I was a Teenage Fascist, McPhee-Gribble, South Yarra, Victoria. ISBN 0869142852
- Markus, Andrew (2008), Race: John Howard and the remaking of Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney ISBN 978-1864488661
- Moore, AndrewAndrew Moore (historian)Dr Andrew Moore is an Australian historian and academic, a specialist in Australian right-wing politics. He has taught at the University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, England's University of Lincoln and the University of Western Sydney...
(1995), The Right Road? A History of Right Wing Politics in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1995. ISBN 0-19-553512-X. - Richards, Mike (1972), 'The Politics of Extremism. Eric Butler and the League of Rights,' in Dissent, No. 27, Autumn, Pages 28–43.
- Richards, Mike and Edwards, Max (1973), 'The League of Rights and the election', in Henry Mayer (ed.), Labor to Power: Australia's 1972 election, Angus and Robertson on behalf of the Australasian Political Studies Association, Sydney, New South Wales, pages 105-100. ISBN 0207127743