By Gerard Gill
Recent developments in violent extremism have included an uptick in the salience of mixed, unclear, and unstable (MUU) or ‘salad bar’ ideologies. These are worldviews where numerous, sometimes disparate perspectives combine in a dynamic and evolving manner, resulting in a belief system that is hard to comprehensively define. A growth in MUU ideologies can be afforded by influential external events, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic. Brace et al found that this event saw increased attempts by the far-right to recruit and influence outside of their usual online spheres. Likewise, significant cross-pollination of Australian conspiracism by the far-right was observed during this time.
Traditionally, ideological purity and coherence is maintained by the group structure, wherein the group has a name, mission, and commonly understood ideology. However, as formal group membership has started to give way to ideas, personal experience, and social environments or milieus, ideology becomes more informal and highly individualised.
One category of MUU ideology extremism is what Meleagrou-Hitchens and Ayad refer to as ‘conspiracy extremism’. As conspiracy theories and conspiracism lack an essential attachment to any one political ideology, they attract a range of people from varied backgrounds, and can form the jumping-off point for various different political views.
Meleagrou-Hitchens and Ayad note that beneath the immediate sense of confusion and incoherence that characterises MUU ideologies, some definition can be found in the presence of shared enemies. This is what binds the modern conspiracy extremists to the far-right and sees them increasingly comfortable with this association.
Conspiracy extremism and the far-right in Australia
Australia’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has included a rise in violent extremist activity, the far-right in particular. Increasing anti-government sentiment, exacerbated by the impacts of the pandemic on daily life, presented an opportunity for motivated actors to harness that sentiment to a particular ideological bent. A further opportunity was presented by the flood of mis- and disinformation and conspiracy theories, a common occurrence in times of crisis.
A conspiracist mindset can in and of itself motivate violence without being attached to a coherent political ideology. This was dramatically highlighted in Wieambilla, Queensland where a trio of pre-millenialist conspiracy theorists killed two police officers and a neighbour before dying in a confrontation with police.
In Australia, from the early days of the pandemic significant cross-pollination of conspiracist online spaces by far-right actors was seen. These actors used the desire for information to promote extremist content, stoked speculation and paranoia, shared accounts of ostensible state repression, and spoke of modern society as corrupt and degenerate. This influence has recently become further solidified with the formation of the National Workers Alliance (NWA).
The National Workers Alliance
The aims and values of the NWA is laid out in the ‘mission’ section of the website. These can be categorised in a few ways that speak to both conspiracism and fundamental far-right tenets. Basic far-right racism is captured with the goals of ‘Preserve Western Culture and Identity’, calls for an ‘Immediate Moratorium on Immigration’. Among these more prosaic goals are typical conspiracist preoccupations such as ‘Withdraw from the UN’, ‘No Digital ID’, and the vaccine-related ‘Protect Body Autonomy & Informed Consent’. Relatedly, in a subject area that has already seen Nazis and conspiracists side-by-side, is the paranoia, traditionalism, and sexual anxiety of ‘Stop the Sexualisation of Children’, ‘End Government Indoctrination of Children’, ‘Protect Family Rights & Traditions’, and ‘Restrict Child Access to Gambling & Pornography’.
The inaugural event
The first event of the NWA was livestreamed on Facebook on 19 June 2024 and addressed the topics of ‘STOP MASS IMMIGRATION’, and ‘PROTECT CHILDREN’ with members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network (NSN) present.
The proceedings began with organiser Matt Trihey claiming that the political system of today is being controlled behind the scenes, and that “there is no political solution”. In response, Trihey suggested an escalating number of steps, from education through to violence, which “we don’t want but if people keep pushing, it’s what they’ll get.”
The next presenter, Christian Nationalist Nick Patterson, discussed how Western culture is being destroyed, by “the people above”. Patterson explained that this is firstly being accomplished through Marxist indoctrination in schools, where educators are “so far removed from morality they can’t tell you what a woman is” and children are fed lies such as climate change, the virtues of multiculturalism, COVID-19, and ‘gender ideology’. Secondly, Patterson speaks of a clash of values between Christians and non-Christian immigrants, enabled by the Marxist lie of equality. As Christian values decline in Australia, Patterson explains, immorality such as drag queen story times thrives.
Finally, presenter Damien Richardson engaged prominent white nationalist Blair Cottrell in discussion, saying with regards to white, Western culture, that ‘we have to secure a homeland for our people…and how that happens? I’m not prepared to fedpost on a livestream…”
Conclusion
The emergence of the NWA is arguably the most defined and deliberate far-right turn for Australian conspiracism. Ideological kinship between the conspiracists and the traditional far-right has become explicit in their intimations of societal corruption, globalist domination, and nefarious attempts to stifle the moral crusade of the Awake.
As testament to the modern power of milieu rather than group, Christchurch killer Brenton Tarrant was a fan of but not member of Lads Society, precursor of the NSN (McGowan 2020). Similarly, Gareth, Nathaniel, and Stacey Train were likeminded but critical of the conspiracist anti-lockdown ‘Freedom Movement’. In the current moment, the basic ideas suffice, and the ideological constants behind Christchurch and Wieambilla have definitively found each other.
Gerard Gill is a research associate at Deakin University and a member of the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT) network. He can be contacted at gerard_gill@hotmail.com or on Twitter/X at @G_A_Gill.
IMAGE CREDIT: PEXELS
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