Brethren Church denies paying influencers to harass election candidates

The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has denied claims it secretly paid individuals to interfere with the federal election campaign last year. According to allegations reported by Nine News, members of the church allegedly coordinated far-right influencers to harass political candidates. The church has stated that members of its congregation were the victims of a harassment campaign at polling stations during the election.

In a Senate inquiry, Lloyd Grimshaw, a director of the church, denied any allegations of the Brethren secretly paying people to disrupt the Labor Party's re-election campaign last year. He alleged that the story lacked specific references to any individual Brethren member, calling it "a tale" rather than a serious accusation. Grimshaw emphasized that the church has a strong tradition of volunteering, with members often volunteering for support, help with election-day barbecues, or due to a genuine belief in a candidate.

He also stressed that there was no institutional coordination between the church and its members during the election, asserting that no church in Australia would be held responsible for actions taken by its parishioners in their private time.