The Australian Protectionist Party (APP) is a minor

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The party stated that it had been formed to fill the void of a pro-Australian party within the political arena based on traditional values. The APP was formed in 2007 as a splinter organization of the

Australia First Party The Australia First Party (AFP), officially known as the Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, is an Australian nationalism, Australian nationalist political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell (politician), Graeme Campbell, a former m ...

, party led by Jim Saleam. The party was registered as a federal

with the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

(AEC) on 18 January 2011 and de-registered on 18 June 2015. The party continues to have an active website and seeks donations. Its current officeholders are not disclosed and its address is given as a

PO box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door-to-door delivery ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

History

Foundation and early years, 2007–2010

Founded in 2007, the party was formed from a split with the

(AFP) after initially being described as one of its three factions. By 2010, the party was believed to have adopted the ' BNP model under

Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...

', moving away from

Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and toward an authentic voice for

white nationalism White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

and white alienation. This supposed change had come after a 2008 invitation from the party for a

speaking tour of Australia had been accepted. However,

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

had been blocked from entering the country. Darrin Hodges ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in the 2008 elections for Sutherland Shire Council, coming last in his ward. At the

2010 Australian federal election The 2010 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 to elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard won a second term against the ...

, Hodges and Nicholas Hunter-Folkes (aka. Nick Folkes) ran a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

ticket in New South Wales, running as

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

s, as APP was not registered in time. They received 1,864 votes or 0.04% of the vote. Andrew Phillips stood for the seat of Mayo in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, also as an independent, receiving 993 votes or 1.08% of the votes.

Registration, elections and de-registration, 2011–2015

In June 2012, Andrew Phillips was described as the party's nominal leader, following the resignation of ''de facto'' party leader Darrin Hodges. In September 2012, NSW chairman Nick Folkes unsuccessfully contested the NSW council elections for the Municipality of Leichhardt, receiving 41 votes or 0.6% of the total vote for the ward. In December 2012, Folkes resigned from APP to form

Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...

, modeled on Wilder's Freedom Party, and taking the entire Sydney branch with him. Folkes' Party for Freedom appears to have links to

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), also known as One Nation (ON) or One Nation Party (ONP), is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. ...

. At the 2013 federal election for the

for the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, the APP ticket of Mark Grech and Christian Johns received 2,424 votes or 0.06% of the vote. Two years later, on 18 June 2015, the party would be de-registered by the

, but the APP would still operate as an organization.

Right alliance, 2016–present

In June 2016, APP in Western Australia hosted a public speaking event in Perth featuring Graeme Campbell, whom APP described as "the Father of modern Australian nationalism". Campbell was the founder in 1996 of the far-right

and had been a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, One Nation and independent MP. In October 2016, the APP joined with the Australian Coalition of Nationalists (ACN), a

political group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

formed by the

(AFP) alongside other

organizations such as the Nationalist Alternative (NA), the Eureka Youth League, and the Hellenic Nationalists of Australia (HNA). The APP hailed the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, saying it believed this "ushered in a new era". The APP has been essentially inactive since 2016, with the only evidence of any activity being the occasional post on its website.

Ideology

With an emphasis on

Australian nationalism 263px, Flag of Australia Australian nationalism is the ideology, movement and sentiment that emphasizes the identity, culture, and interests of Australia as a nation-state, asserting the identity of Australians as a distinct nation, regardle ...

, the party's core ideology centres around

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...

;

opposition to immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and opposition to believed

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism refers to extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideologies adhered to by some Muslims within Islam. The term 'Islamic extremism' is contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations of Is ...

in Australia. The party sits on the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

of the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...

, being described by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) as

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

, echoing the great replacement conspiracy theory. Kathryn Crosby of the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

describes the APP to have certain

populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...

characteristics. Since its formation, the party has been active in protesting against the presence of asylum seekers and Muslims, and has also organised several protests against

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

being implemented in Australia. The party has participated in anti-asylum seeker rallies such as the one outside the

Villawood Immigration Detention Centre Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located i ...

in 2010.

Electoral performance

Federal Parliament

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Australian Protectionist Party website
{{Defunct Australian political parties Australian nationalist parties Right-wing populism Anti-Islam sentiment in Australia Anti-immigration politics in Australia Protectionism Far-right political parties in Australia Organisations based in Victoria (state) White nationalism in Australia Socially conservative parties