EXCLUSIVE
The Liberal Party-funded disinformation group “Advance” sent an email to tens of thousands of Australians sowing division over ANZAC Day just hours before Friday’s dawn service.
The highly divisive missive was sent by Advance on Thursday night — hours before the Welcome to Country was booed in Melbourne — and followed an earlier mass email from the group attacking the Indigenous ceremony.
The attacks by Advance, and subsequent attacks on the Welcome to Country by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, appear to be part of a tightly choreographed political attack, with the Federal poll just days away.
The biggest funder of Advance last financial year — by a factor of ten — was the Liberal Party.
“Tomorrow is ANZAC Day,” wrote Advance “spokeswoman” Sandra Bourke.
“And I’ll be honest, it breaks my heart to see that so few people are talking about it”.
“It breaks my heart to see that so few people are talking about it (ANZAC Day)” – Advance
Bourke provided no evidence to back her statements, which were made hours before vast numbers of Australians swelled at events across the nation to pay respect to the nation’s veterans.
At Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance dawn service — where the Welcome to Country was booed by a prominent Neo-Nazi and others — over 50,000 people gathered, which was 10,000 more than last year.
Huge crowds gathered across the nation, including at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance dawn service, where over 50,000 gathered to pay respects. Source: ABC News/Danielle Bonica
In the mass email, Bourke attacked the Greens, claiming they had planned to hold a fundraising event that day, “just to raise money and get votes from the Greens”.
“That’s out right disrespectful,” Bourke writes.
“That’s out right disrespectful” — Advance
“Anzac Day offers us a chance to stop and reflect. “To remember the sacrifice of the Australians that gave their lives to defend their nation, their families, their way of life,” she writes.
“Anzac Day offers us a chance to stop and reflect” — Advance
Advance “spokeswoman” Sandra Bourke. Source: Advance
In the “ANZAC Day” email, Bourke then boasts about the vast attack operation Advance is running – including that “more than three million Australians” had seen its Greens attack ads on social media.
“More than one million pieces of anti-Greens mail will be delivered in our target seats,” Bourke writes.
“And your ads have been seen more than two million times on digital TV in key Greens seats”. (Emphasis Advance’s).
“More than one million pieces of anti-Greens mail will be delivered in our target seats” — Advance
The week before, Advance sent out a mass email declaring the “Welcome to Country” is part of a secretive plan by “elites” to “delegitimise Australia’s history”.
Again, no evidence was provided to support any of the claims.
Part of the Advance email attacking the Welcome to Country. Source: Advance
In the email, Advance executive director Matthew Sheahan lies and states the Welcome to Country “actually means” that “this isn’t your country anymore”.
“Welcome to Country ‘actually means’ that ‘this isn’t your country anymore’” — Advance
“It’s about delegitimising your place in the country, your family’s history, the sacrifice and blood, sweat and tears that went into building Australia,” Sheahan writes.
The email was titled: “Sick of hearing ‘Welcome to Country’?”
“Sick of hearing ‘Welcome to Country’?” — Advance
In a shock move, NRL’s Melbourne Storm cancelled its Welcome to Country ceremony Friday afternoon, just hours before it was to be performed at a match with South Sydney Rabbitohs.
As revealed by The Klaxon yesterday, Storm director and co-owner Brett Ralph was Advance’s second biggest funder last financial year, and has given at least $275,000 to the group.
“Storm director Brett Ralph was Advance’s second biggest funder last financial year”
The Klaxon’s report yesterday. Source: The Klaxon
On Sunday at the leaders debate, Dutton pressed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the Welcome to Country, before Dutton attacked the Indigenous ceremony, stating it was “overdone”.
Today, he doubled-down, declaring Welcome to Country ceremonies should be “reserved for significant events of our country” — but not ANZAC Day.
“Anzac Day is about our veterans … I think the majority view would be that they don’t want it on that day,” Dutton said.
“The majority view would be that they don’t want it on that day” — Peter Dutton
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The Coalition and Advance heavily attacked the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with Advance spreading disinformation and lies about the proposal.
Advance has repeatedly publicly claimed credit for the collapse in public support for the Voice – which coincided with Advance’s aggressive disinformation campaign – and its subsequent failure.
Advance is now using almost identical attacks against Welcome to Country ceremonies.
Dutton doubled-down on his attacks on the Welcome to Country today. Source: Sky News
The attacks from Advance have coincided with attacks from the Liberal and National Parties — as well as from an array of obscure social media groups, many of which make no political disclosures.
The Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party, via its election slush fund vehicle the Cormack Foundation, gave Advance $500,000 last financial year, Australian Electoral Commission records show.
Advance’s tied second biggest donor in the period, giving the disinformation group $50,000 was Storm director and co-owner Ralph.
Ralph is one of Storm’s four directors.
Ralph and fellow director, chairman Matthew Tripp, have not responded to repeated requests for comment from The Klaxon over the past two days.
The Klaxon is currently running a fundraising campaign with the Local and Independent News Association (LINA) to raise desperately needed funds to support this vital public interest journalism. Please consider supporting us here.
Thank you,
Anthony Klan
Editor, The Klaxon
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