HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ACTION
by B.Knight (2002) modified by Steve Godfrey (2013)
Legislation was introduced to combat it, its activists were harassed, assaulted and gaoled. [2] The mainstream media constantly vilified it. No other political organisation in the past 30 years has had its origins and early history attacked by propagandists keen to attribute it with other purposes and opinions.
WHEN? WHERE? WHO? National Action was founded in Sydney by Nationalist activists previously involved in the ‘Progressive Nationalist Party’, (PNP) a short-lived 1981 amalgamation of Australian National Alliance, Immigration Control Association and its electoral arm, Progressive Conservative Party. National Action was established at a meeting of seventeen comrades at an inner Sydney address in February 1982. Two months later they met again to formalize the organisation following positive approaches from other sections of the PNP. The enlarged organisation agreed to develop a Nationalist strategy akin to the former ‘Alliance’ rather than purely lobby group as ICA had been.
The remaining ICA activists abandoned their previous commitment to electoralism and other political actions, reverting to lobbying. The Nationalists saw the necessity of ‘moving forward’ with a comprehensive strategy and renewed tactics. By the close of 1982, a skeletal national structure was developed. ANA formally adopted the Eureka flag as its symbol. [3]
Media, politicians, Leftist groups, even academics later issued false reports about ANA’s history and ideas. For example, in 1994 David Greason, a ‘journalist’ with Melbourne’s Herald Sun and ‘researcher’ for the Australia-Israel Review, claimed to be ANA’s ‘founder’. [4] This lie was widely reported and quickly refuted, but is still produced today.
An earlier, more elaborate lie has National Action portrayed as a continuation of the widely discredited 1970’s Australian National Socialist Party. [5] This was first put forward in 1982 by Marxist journalist, Dennis Freney, then with Communist Party newspaper Tribune. [6]
The facts: National Action kept a record of all those at the 1982 foundation meeting. Greason’s name is not there. What is revealed by National Action membership files and records is the unique source pools for its members during this period. A 1989 collation of ANA records revealed they had recruited a minority of people whose first allegiance was to the major political parties, a handful from Left and Right organisations but 80 percent claimed National Action membership as their ever first political commitment.
The 20 percent of ANA members, usually the older supporters, who were previously members of other groups covered the entire array of anti-immigration groups back to 1966, when the White Australia Policy was formally abandoned. Apart from ICA, ANA had members from the Conservative Immigration Movement, Immigration Restriction Council, Migrant Policy Action Group and the White Australia and Aborigines Defence League. National Action had recruited people with long years of consistent failure using other approaches.
HISTORY OF COMMITMENT: National Action was immediately politically isolated. It stood alone in the 1980’s, an era of Economic Rationalism, Internationalisation of the economy, political Globalisation and massive Asian immigration. National Action fought on all these fronts. Its Nationalist program and the ‘political guerrilla warfare’ strategy and tactics adopted from Maoism were applied, to some success.
Through hard fought battles, actual and ideological, National Action won both publicity and recruits. ANA activists gained a reputation for consistent action on behalf of the common Australian masses but they had no allies and few political friends. An added dimension was the many unstable elements attracted to the organisation for uncertain or improper personal reasons. When uncovered these were ejected from membership. Continual internal debate helped clarify objectives and ideology.
In 1989 National Action became the subject of sustained political police activity. This was coupled with increased media campaigns and attempts to ‘pin’ certain actions on prominent ANA members. [7] Their long-term campaigning against foreign ownership, economic Asianisation and particular efforts directed at exposing liberal opinion shapers and public figures engendered a desire to close the party down. [8]
ANA were denounced in Federal Parliament by then ALP Prime Minister, Bob Hawke. [9] After an intensive two-year investigation National Chairman Jim Saleam was arrested in 1986, 1987 & 1991. [10] Simultaneous effort was also made to ‘frame’ both the South Australian and Victorian Chairmen of ANA. Unlike the National Chair, both managed to elude arrest. [11]
NATIONALISM RECONSTRUCTED: In the years 1991-94 National Action continued to build under the direction of former South Australian Chair Michael Brander. In the new period, National Action developed a more active street presence and a physical profile established by a set-piece confrontations with radical Left groups. ANA opened a bookstore at 24 Bank St. Adelaide on the 1st February 1996. It instantly became the focus of attack for the Left, the media, even the landlord. [12]
At this stage ANA had the largest number of deliberate Nationalists. As such it was both a bastion and a target. The political Elite remained hostile and National Action has found various low-level ways to disrupt it and affect marginalization.
Jim Saleam was convicted and sentenced to gaol in 1991 for the alleged shot-gunning of ANC rep. Eddy Funde’s empty house, a conviction obtained by ‘verballing’ two frightened teenagers. After his release from gaol he set about completing his Ph.D studies. Jim was reinstated to ANA until 2000 when he left to take over management of the Australia First Party. [13] Jim, now Doctor James Saleam, began recruiting ANA members and Branches across Australia for his new group. ANA were happy to see a Nationalist succeed so did not interfere with AFP’s expansion.
ANA believes it is their grass-roots activism that made possible the eruption of numerous Rightist grouplets in the 1980's, 1990's and today. These new forces were products of a base level mobilisation of Australians against an irrational Order perceived to be perpetrating a genocide of Australian Identity. ANA did not want to restore a normality which supposed existed before the ‘rot’ took hold. They wish to complete the dream of Nationalist pioneer William Lane, co-founder of the ALP, and primitive socialists like Henry Lawson and AB ‘Banjo’ Patterson. They seek the creation of a new Australian Nation. [14]
ANA’s Nationalism wishes for an Independent Australian National State, based upon the central demands of a new White Australia Policy, industrial protection and cultural independence. ANA see themselves as a fighting vanguard which articulates where Australians will seek to move as the populist movement comes up against the hard reality of the Australian State, its media lies, its political police, its manipulated Left ‘anti-racist’ gangsters, its dulled-down intellectual conformism and all other agencies of control and intimidation. Their primary goal is to awaken the People. [15]
ANA’s Brisbane Branch publishes a monthly STORM newsletter and may be contacted at:
P O Box 635 Strathpine PS 4500 Australia
phone 07 3205 8543
Email: australiannationalaction@yahoo.com.au
australiannationalaction2.blogspot.com.au/
Footnotes:
1. ‘League of Rights doctrine shows anti-nationalism’ p. 8 Ultra: Internal Bulletin of NA (NSW) #65, April 1990.2. ‘Penalties in race slur bill are tough’ p. 2 Ultra: internal Bulletin of NA(NSW) #57, January 1989.
3. ‘A Third Way Economic/Social Ideal’ p. 9 Ultra: Internal Bulletin of NA (NSW) #65, April 1990; ‘20 years of Nationalist Action!’ by B. Knight 26.1.2002.
4. I Was A Teenage Fascist by David Greason from McPhee-Gribble, 1994.
5. ‘Third Position – Key to Getting out of the Ghetto’ p. 4 Ultra NA Internal Bulletin #58, Feb. 1989.
6. Nazis out of Uniform by Denis Freney 1984.
7. ‘Anti-Nationalist Judgment Appealed’ p. 2 National Action News #31, March 1999.
8. The Nature of State Power in Australia by Jim Saleam June 1985.
9. ‘Hawke Moves against Melbourne NA!’ p. 1 Ultra #44, July 1987.
10. ‘legal harassment of NA Chairman!’ p. 1 Ultra #39, November 1986; ‘Chairman to be Jailed?’ p. 1 Ultra #40, January 1987; ‘Chairman Jailed!’ p. 1 Ultra #41 March 1987.
11. ‘Charges Dropped!’ p. 1 National Action News #23, Sept.1995.
12. ‘Distasio backs down over attempt to evict NA’ p. 6 National Action News #24 March 1996; ‘Shop Enrages Enemies’ p. 1 National Action News #27, March 1997.
13. ‘Right-wing genie out of the bottle’ by Erik Jensen Sydney Morning Herald 9th July 2009.
14. ‘The Australian National Revolution’ p. 1 National Action News #24, March 1996.
15. What Is Australian Nationalism? Towards the Development of an Australian Nationalist Idea. May 1987 Ed. Jim Saleam.
[This article was prepared for inclusion as a Wikipedia article to replace the current one which begins: 'ANA is a defunct political party' and was written by Greason et al. Anonymous 'editors' at Wiki marked this version for 'immediate deletion'. We asked: 'Why?'
'It contradicts the existing entry'. 'Duh! That's the general idea'. Then they referred us to their publishing policy, The Five Pillars, which says: 'quotes may only be from reliable sources such as published books or main-stream press publications. They do NOT include extreme minority texts' (like Ultra or NA News). Catch-22. You can't get Rightist views into print anywhere because no one has printed it, yet. Another System lock-out. Any wonder some demand the closure of higher education facilities?RE].
No comments:
Post a Comment