John Tuson Bennett (12 November 1937 – 22 July 2013) was a solicitor in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. He was one of Australia's longest and most active Holocaust deniers, active in the

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

movement from the late 1970s. He formed the Australian Civil Liberties Union (ACCL) in 1980.

Early life and education

Bennett was born on 12 November 1937 in

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Horsham had a population of 2 ...

. His father, Ian, was a solicitor, and later served as mayor. He graduated with honours from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

in both law and arts.

Career

Bennett worked from 1974 to 1996 for the

Legal Aid Commission of Victoria Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), formerly the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, is an organisation that provides information, legal advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems. They prioritise intensive l ...

. He and

Beatrice Faust Beatrice Eileen Faust (19 February 1939 – 30 October 2019) was an Australian author and women's activist. In 1966 she was president of the Victorian Abortion Law Repeal Association. She was also a co-founder of the Women's Electoral Lobby i ...

established the

Victorian Council for Civil Liberties Liberty Victoria, officially the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties (VCCL) and formerly Australian Council for Civil Liberties (ACCL), is a civil liberties group based in Victoria, Australia. History The Australian Council for Civil Liberties ...

(VCCL, now known as Liberty Victoria) in 1966, and Bennett served as its secretary until 1980. The new body, which superseded the Australian Council for Civil Liberties (ACCL), had no ties with former council members, and no political and religious affiliations, unlike the ACCL, which was affiliated to the Labor Party. It focused largely on police matters, in particular their actions in response to

protests against the Vietnam War Protests against the Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The majority of the protests were in the United States, but some took place ar ...

around 1970. Disagreements arose between conservative and radical members, and Bennett was expelled from the Labor Party in 1980.

Australian Civil Liberties Union

Around this time disagreements arose between conservative and radical members of the VCCL, and in May 1980 a new committee was elected without Bennett. Conflict ensued, with Bennett refusing to hand over control of the finances or membership list, and the matter went to court. While Bennett claimed to represent the VCCL, but in the same year formed a new body, the Australian Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), its name based on the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, and was its president from 1980 to 2004. The ACLU has been characterised as "one of Victoria's foremost racist and Holocaust denying organisations". Geoff Muirden was secretary of the ACLU in 2004.

Publications and other roles

He was for many years the author of an annually published handbook or journal called ''Your Rights'', This was published over a number of years and editions, first by Bennett, then by VCCL, and then ACLU. The 1984 edition included a section which denied the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Bennett claimed in 2003 that the publication was "the most commonly used layman's guide to law in Australia", with over 500,000 copies sold or distributed for free since the first edition. Bennett was closely associated with the

Adelaide Institute The Adelaide Institute was a Holocaust denial group in Australia and is considered to be antisemitic by the Australian Human Rights Commission and others. The Adelaide Institute was formed in 1995 from the former Truth Mission that was establishe ...

as well as the United States-based

Institute for Historical Review The Institute for Historical Review (IHR) is a United States-based nonprofit organization which promotes Holocaust denial. It is considered by many scholars to be central to the international Holocaust denial movement. Self-described as a "hist ...

, two groups known for Holocaust denial, and was on the board of ''

The Journal of Historical Review The ''Journal of Historical Review'' was a non-peer reviewed, pseudoacademic periodical focused on advancing Holocaust denial. It was published by the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), based in Torrance, California. It ran quarterly from 19 ...

''. In 1999 he organised support for Holocaust denier Fredrick Töben, after he had been jailed in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

. He was also known for criticising "

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

and Asian immigration" in addition to criticism against the Jewish community and traditional beliefs about

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Death and legacy

Bennett died on 22 July 2013, aged 76.

Notes

References

External links

Australian Civil Liberties Union
(last updated 28 April 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, John Tuson 1937 births 2013 deaths Australian Holocaust deniers Antisemitism in Australia Melbourne Law School alumni