Jim Saleam | |
---|---|
![]() Saleam at a nationalist rally, 2013 | |
Chairman of the Australia First Party | |
Assumed office 18 July 2010 | |
Deputy Chairman | Peter Schuback |
Preceded by | Office established; Diane Teasdale (as President of the Federal Australia First Party) |
General Secretary of the Australia First Party | |
In office 19 December 2002 – August 2007 | |
President | Diane Teasdale |
Preceded by | No immediate predecessor |
Succeeded by | No immediate successor |
Leader of the National Action Party | |
In office 25 April 1982 – 11 June 1997 | |
Deputy | Ross May |
Preceded by | Party established |
Succeeded by | Michael Brander |
Deputy Leader of the National Socialist Party of Australia | |
In office c. 1972 – 1975 Served with Ross May | |
Leader | Ted Cawthron |
Preceded by | Frank Molnar |
Succeeded by | Party dissolved |
Personal details | |
Born | James Saleam 18 September 1955 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
Political party | Australia First (2002–07; 2010–present) |
Other political affiliations | See list
|
Spouse |
Jane Mengler
(m. 1987; div. 1994) |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Tempe, New South Wales, Australia |
Alma mater | University of Sydney (PhD) |
Occupation |
|
Known for | Far-right activism, founding National Action and Australia First Party[2] |
Criminal charge | Insurance fraud and property offences (1984)[3] Accessory before the fact (1991)[3] |
Part of a series on |
Far-right politics in Australia |
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James Saleam (/ˈseɪləm/; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian political scientist, academic, political activist, and author noted for his involvement in Australian nationalism, anti-globalism, and the anti-immigration movement.[4][5][6][7] He is currently the chairman of the Australia First Party.[8][9] He came to prominence after founding National Action, a militant nationalist organization active in Sydney during the 1980s.[5][10]
The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia,[11] Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, where he developed his interest in politics and nationalism.[12] By 1970, he joined the National Socialist Party of Australia and two years later he was arrested for the fire-bombing of a Maoist bookshop.[13] During the 70s, Saleam joined and founded minor nationalist organisations, and in 1982 he founded National Action.
Following the foundation of National Action, Saleam quickly gained national notoriety in the Australian nationalist scene.[5] The organization advocated for a nationalist agenda and frequently engaged in tactics like direct action.[5][14] National Action's activities often led to clashes with opposing groups and law enforcement. In 1989, while a member of said organization, Saleam got arrested for his involvement in orchestrating a shotgun attack on the home of an African National Congress representative in Australia.[15]
Despite these setbacks, he continued to promote his nationalist ideology. In the late 1990s, after serving time in prison, Saleam obtained both an MA and PhD from the University of Sydney by writing two thesis on the far-right in America and Australia.[5] He would join the Australia First Party in 2002, where he worked as the secretary of the Sydney branch. By 2010, he became the chairman of the party.[16] Under his leadership, the party has maintained a staunchly nationalist stance and campaigning on issues of national sovereignty and cultural preservation. Since then, Saleam has been a strong advocate of barring further immigration to preserve a "self-contained, predominantly white nation resistant to further immigration or watering-down of its culture".[17][14]
Early life[edit]
Saleam was born and raised in Maryborough, Queensland, 18 September 1955, to a family of Lebanese immigrants.[18] During his youth, Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, which at the time worked as a segregated boys and girls high school.
Political activism[edit]
In 1970, at the age of 15, he joined the National Socialist Party of Australia. He was arrested and convicted for the fire-bombing of a Maoist bookshop in Brisbane in 1972.[13]
In 1975, "much to his later chagrin", Saleam was photographed in full Nazi uniform at a public meeting.[19][20] On Anzac Day 1982, he co-founded National Action (NA), which eventually collapsed due to Saleam's convictions for property offences and fraud in 1984, possession of a prohibited article - a large nail-studded club in 1985, and for organising a shotgun attack in 1989 on African National Congress Australian representative Eddie Funde,[21] for which he served three and a half years in prison.[13][14][3]
After his release from prison, Saleam was awarded a PhD in politics from the University of Sydney by writing a thesis entitled The Other Radicalism: An Inquiry into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organization 1975–1995 (submitted in December 1999).[22]
Saleam was affiliated with the Patriotic Youth League,[3][23] and has been seen associating with neo-Nazi skinheads.[20] In 2004, Saleam contested the NSW local government elections, and ran for Marrickville Council on an anti-refugee platform. In 2012, he ran for NSW local government election in the City of Blue Mountains.[24][25][26]
Australia First Party[edit]
Saleam was the Secretary of the Sydney branch of the Australia First Party (AFP) between 2002 and 2007, when he became its chairman, and sought to re-establish the party. In July 2009, he announced that it had reached its target of 500 members and was registering the New South Wales branch party with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). The party was reregistered in mid-2010, in time to contest the 2010 federal election. [5]
AFP contested the 2013 federal election, Saleam standing in the seat of Cook on a platform to end refugee intakes, running against Scott Morrison. He received 617 votes, or 0.67% of the vote.[citation needed]
On 14 July 2015, the AEC deregistered the AFP due to its failure to demonstrate the required number of members. It was reregistered on 1 March 2016 as "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated".[27]
Saleam stood at the 2016 federal election in the seat of Lindsay and received 1068 votes or 1.2% of the vote. He stood for AFP in the 2018 Longman by-election, receiving 709 votes or 0.8% of the vote.[28]
Saleam stood in the seat of Cootamundra, New South Wales, in the 2017 by-election as an independent, though still a member of Australia First, as the party is not registered for state elections.[29] He received 453 votes, 1% of the total. He again stood in the seat at the 2019 New South Wales state election as an independent, receiving 0.95% of the vote. Saleam's platform included the reintroduction of the White Australia policy and opposition to Chinese immigration.[30]
Personal life[edit]
Saleam married Jane Mengler in 1987. They had two children and divorced in 1994.[1]
Electoral history[edit]
Federal Parliament elections
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Scott Morrison | 55,707 | 60.35 | +2.47 | |
Labor | Peter Scaysbrook | 22,850 | 24.76 | −4.05 | |
Greens | Mithra Cox | 6,058 | 6.56 | −1.17 | |
Palmer United | Matthew Palise | 3,765 | 4.08 | +4.08 | |
Christian Democrats | Beth Smith | 1,981 | 2.15 | +0.23 | |
Independent | Graeme Strang | 1,321 | 1.43 | −0.32 | |
Australia First | Jim Saleam | 617 | 0.67 | +0.67 | |
Total formal votes | 92,299 | 94.08 | −0.11 | ||
Informal votes | 5,813 | 5.92 | +0.11 | ||
Turnout | 98,112 | 94.17 | −0.25 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
Liberal | Scott Morrison | 61,244 | 66.35 | +3.69 | |
Labor | Peter Scaysbrook | 31,055 | 33.65 | −3.69 | |
Liberal hold | Swing | +3.69 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | Emma Husar | 36,675 | 41.08 | +2.05 | |
Liberal | Fiona Scott | 35,081 | 39.30 | −7.35 | |
Greens | Kingsley Liu | 3,199 | 3.58 | +0.52 | |
Christian Democrats | Warren Wormald | 2,701 | 3.03 | +0.24 | |
Marcus Cornish | 2,128 | 2.38 | +2.38 | ||
Liberty Alliance | Stephen Roddick | 2,110 | 2.36 | +2.36 | |
Xenophon | Stephen Lynch | 1,850 | 2.07 | +2.07 | |
Family First | Linda La Brooy | 1,513 | 1.69 | +1.69 | |
Justice | Scott Grimley | 1,497 | 1.68 | +1.68 | |
Animal Justice | Deborah Blundell | 1,454 | 1.63 | +1.63 | |
Australia First | Jim Saleam | 1,068 | 1.20 | +0.50 | |
Total formal votes | 89,276 | 88.23 | −3.56 | ||
Informal votes | 11,913 | 11.77 | +3.56 | ||
Turnout | 101,189 | 92.22 | −2.07 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
Labor | Emma Husar | 45,633 | 51.11 | +4.10 | |
Liberal | Fiona Scott | 43,643 | 48.89 | −4.10 | |
Labor gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.10 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | Susan Lamb | 35,203 | 39.84 | +4.45 | |
Liberal National | Trevor Ruthenberg | 26,170 | 29.61 | −9.40 | |
One Nation | Matthew Stephen | 14,061 | 15.91 | +6.50 | |
Greens | Gavin Behrens | 4,264 | 4.83 | +0.44 | |
Independent | Jackie Perkins | 2,379 | 2.69 | +2.69 | |
Liberal Democrats | Lloyd Russell | 1,762 | 1.99 | +1.99 | |
Country | Blair Verrier | 1,387 | 1.57 | +1.57 | |
Democratic Labour | Gregory Bell | 1,043 | 1.18 | +1.18 | |
Science | James Noonan | 970 | 1.10 | +1.10 | |
Australia First | Jim Saleam | 709 | 0.80 | +0.80 | |
People's Party | John Reece | 420 | 0.48 | +0.48 | |
Total formal votes | 88,368 | 93.93 | +2.46 | ||
Informal votes | 5,707 | 6.07 | −2.46 | ||
Turnout | 94,075 | 84.26 | −7.42 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
Labor | Susan Lamb | 48,116 | 54.45 | +3.66 | |
Liberal National | Trevor Ruthenberg | 40,252 | 45.55 | −3.66 | |
Labor hold | Swing | +3.66 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Melissa McIntosh | 45,247 | 46.45 | +7.16 | |
Labor | Diane Beamer | 34,690 | 35.61 | −5.47 | |
Greens | Nick Best | 4,781 | 4.91 | +1.33 | |
United Australia | Christopher Buttel | 2,831 | 2.91 | +2.91 | |
Independent | Mark Tyndall | 2,785 | 2.86 | +2.86 | |
Conservative National | Brandon Lees | 2,374 | 2.44 | +2.44 | |
Christian Democrats | Mark Moody-Basedow | 1,997 | 2.05 | −0.98 | |
Australia First | Jim Saleam | 1,372 | 1.41 | +0.21 | |
Sustainable Australia | Geoff Brown | 1,326 | 1.36 | +1.36 | |
Total formal votes | 97,403 | 88.92 | +0.69 | ||
Informal votes | 12,135 | 11.08 | −0.69 | ||
Turnout | 109,538 | 92.26 | +0.03 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
Liberal | Melissa McIntosh | 53,614 | 55.04 | +6.15 | |
Labor | Diane Beamer | 43,789 | 44.96 | −6.15 | |
Liberal gain from Labor | Swing | +6.15 |
state Parliament elections
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | Steph Cooke | 21,093 | 46.2 | −19.6 | |
Labor | Charlie Sheahan | 10,930 | 24.0 | −2.0 | |
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Matthew Stadtmiller | 10,621 | 23.3 | +23.3 | |
Christian Democrats | Philip Langfield | 1,273 | 2.8 | +0.5 | |
Greens | Jeffrey Passlow | 1,238 | 2.7 | −0.8 | |
Ind. Australia First | Jim Saleam | 453 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
Total formal votes | 45,608 | 97.7 | +0.4 | ||
Informal votes | 1,057 | 2.3 | −0.4 | ||
Turnout | 46,665 | 87.2 | −4.7 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
National | Steph Cooke | 24,114 | 60.5 | −10.0 | |
Labor | Charlie Sheahan | 15,769 | 39.5 | +10.0 | |
National hold | Swing | −10.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | Steph Cooke | 30,206 | 63.66 | −2.24 | |
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Matthew Stadtmiller | 7,447 | 15.70 | +15.70 | |
Labor | Mark Douglass | 7,302 | 15.39 | −10.59 | |
Greens | Jeffrey Passlow | 1,380 | 2.91 | −0.57 | |
Sustainable Australia | Joseph Costello | 660 | 1.39 | +1.39 | |
Australia First | Jim Saleam | 453 | 0.95 | +0.95 | |
Total formal votes | 47,448 | 97.30 | −0.01 | ||
Informal votes | 1,319 | 2.70 | +0.01 | ||
Turnout | 48,767 | 91.20 | −0.63 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
National | Steph Cooke | 32,504 | 77.07 | +6.65 | |
Labor | Mark Douglass | 9,673 | 22.93 | −6.65 | |
National hold | Swing | +6.65 |
See also[edit]
- Australia First Party
- Far-right politics in Australia
- National Socialist Party of Australia
- Reclaim Australia
- True Blue Crew
- United Patriots Front
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Good Weekend and Dr James Saleam". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ Petrinic, Isabell (2 June 2016). "Lindsay: Scramble over minor and independent preferences". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d Burke, Kelly (6 September 2012). "Mystery over Australia First's manifesto man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ Hannan, Ewin; Baker, Richard (13 December 2005). "Nationalists boast of their role on the beach". The Age. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Writing About the Extreme Right in Australia". History Cooperative. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Remeikis, Amy (10 July 2018). "Pauline Hanson's One Nation directs preferences away from Labor in Longman". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2012). "Neonazismus in den USA". Im Schatten der Schwarzen Sonne (in German). Wiesbaden: Marixverlag. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9783843801706.
- ^ Drinkwater, Dale (7 June 2016). ""I fight the system and the system fights me", says Lindsay candidate". Western Weekender. Penrith: Western Sydney Publishing Group. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Fellner, Carrie (22 March 2019). "Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ Whitford, Troy (2013). "Combating Political Police: An Overview of National Action's Counterintelligence Program 1982–1990" (PDF). Salus Journal. 2 (1).
- ^ "Getting the fascist message into the Australian heartland". Crikey. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Bearup, Greg (26 September 2009). Whelan, Judith (ed.). "The Audacity of Hate". Good Weekend.
- ^ a b c Crisp, Lyndall (4 April 1989). "Harvest of Hate". Australian Consolidated Press. The Bulletin. pp. 42–49.
- ^ a b c Gibson, Jano; Frew, Wendy (12 January 2008). "No apology for white Australia policy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ Jensen, Erik (9 July 2009). "Right-wing genie out of the bottle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ McSwiney 2024.
- ^ West, Andrew (29 February 2004). "White separatist takes on Marrickville". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ Crisp, Lyndall (4 April 1989). "Harvest of Hate". Australian Consolidated Press. The Bulletin. pp. 42–49.
"Saleam was born [on September 18, 1955] in Maryborough, Queensland, of Lebanese migrant parents. He joined the Nazi Party (the National Socialist Party of Australia) in 1970. Two years later, aged 17, he was found guilty of fire-bombing a Maoist bookshop [East Wind] in Brisbane and put on a four-year good behavior bond"
- ^ Moore, Andrew (1995). The Right Road?: A History of Right-Wing Politics in Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 019553512X.
- ^ a b Several articles discuss Saleam's criminal convictions, contain photographs of Saleam wearing Nazi attire and describe Saleam as a neo-Nazi or former neo-Nazi:
- Packham, Ben (17 July 2018). "Neo-Nazi vote scores a boost from GetUp!". The Australian. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Clift, Tom (12 July 2018). "One Nation Will Preference A Former Neo-Nazi Ahead of Labor in Upcoming Byelection". Junkee. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Greason, David (1994), I was a teenage fascist, pp.283,284,289, McPhee Gribble
- West, Andrew (29 February 2004). "No Apology For White Australia Policy". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- For historic photos of Saleam in Nazi Attire:
- ^ Saleam 1999, p. 194.
- ^ Saleam 1999, p. 1.
- ^ Ewin Hannan; Richard Baker (13 December 2005). "Nationalists boast of their role on the beach". The Age. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Lindsay, NSW - AEC Tally Room". Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "Local Council Elections – Australia First Party in Ward One". Katoomba Leura Online. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Cook, NSW". Election 2013. Australian Electoral Commission. 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ^ Registration and deregistration details:
- "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated". Australian Electoral Commission. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- "Deregistered/renamed political parties". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- "Party Formation". Australia First Party. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- Jensen, Erik (9 July 2009). "Right-wing genie out of the bottle". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- AEC redirection page – Australian Electoral Commission
- ^ Electoral results:
- Murray, Oliver (26 April 2016). "Far-right-wing parties after your vote on election day". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- Pollard, Krystyna (19 May 2016). "Controversial Saleam to stand for Australia First in Lindsay". Penrith City Gazette. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- "House of Representatives division information". Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ Grey, Lachlan (27 August 2017). "Australia First leader Jim Saleam to contest Cootamundra by-election in November". Cootamundra Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'
- ^ 2013 results for Cook, AEC.
- ^ Lindsay, NSW, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.
- ^ "2018 Longman by-election results: AEC". Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ^ "2018 Longman by-election results: ABC". Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ^ Lindsay, NSW, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.
- ^ "First Preference Votes Report Parliamentary Election: Cootamundra". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "State Electoral District of Cootamundra: Distribution of Preferences". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Cootamundra: First Preference Votes". 2019 NSW election results. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "Cootamundra: Distribution of Preferences". 2019 NSW election results. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
Bibliography[edit]
- McSwiney, Jordan (2024). Far-Right Political Parties in Australia. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781003848929. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- Saleam, James (1999). The Other Radicalism: An Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organization 1975–1995 (PDF) (Thesis). Sydney, Australia: Fisher Library, University of Sydney.
External links[edit]
- Australian Nationalist Ideological, Historical and Legal Archive maintained by James Saleam
- Historic photo's of Saleam and other members of the National Socialist Party of Australia News article featuring several historic photographs of Saleam wearing Nazi attire including a swastika arm band.